Worlds Collide
by Iron117Prime
Summary: The Ninja Turtles find themselves in a world torn apart by a 100-year war. They cross paths with Aang and his team and decide to do what they can to stop the Fire Nation. However, little do they know that soon the Fire Lord will be the least of their worries as a more dangerous enemy will follow our reptilian friends and bring Hell with him. (TMNT 2003 series)
1. Worlds Collide

**Hello to one and all. I would like to clear something up real quick; this crossover between Avatar: Last Airbender and Ninja Turtles features the Turtles from the previous, 2003 series (NOT the current 2012 series). This was a fic I've wanted to do for a while, and expect some minor AU alterations to the TMNT story line a bit later on; don't worry, I'm keeping all the characters the same. Oh, this is in the same timeframe of Season 3 for TMNT and Book 2 of Avatar. So then, now that's settled, let's get started.**

 **Disclaimer, I own neither Avatar, nor Ninja Turtles, both franchises are owned by Nickelodeon.**

 **Worlds Collide**

Deep underground, far below the streets of New York was a massive shrine mounted on a large pyramid-like structure. At the bottom of the pyramid we're Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They we're at that moment surrounded by several dozen Foot soldiers, an organization run by their worst enemy, who currently stood at the top of the pyramid near a shrine of tall runes, that surrounded the center like a circle not unlike Stonehenge. At the top stood Oroku Saki, the Shredder; alongside him stood his right hand man, Hun; his adoptive daughter, Karai; and the rogue scientist, Baxter Stockman, now in his robotic form with a holographic head, as a shadow of his former self.

This wasn't any ordinary shrine however. This was the shrine for the Nexus, a gateway to the other worlds of the Multiverse, no doubt Shredder seeks to harness this power for himself, in his efforts to conquer the universe and destroy his enemies.

"Foot Ninja, Attack! Destroy them!" Shredder commanded from the top of the pyramid. The many ninja then charged forward towards the Turtles. "Karai, Hun, deal with those insolent reptiles! I need time to study the Nexus."

"Yes master." Hun and Karai both said at the same time as they bowed and went down to join the fight.

"Stockman!" Shredder commanded, startling the scientist. "How soon can you have this ready?"

"Deciphering ancient hieroglyphics takes time." Stockman answered as he looked at the runes decorating the shrine. Shredder glared, as he didn't like the answer "But I promise, I will have something for you soon."

Down below the Turtles we're busy sweeping past the many Foot ninja. Leonardo blocked the many sword strikes with his twin katana blades. Six Foot charged forward and brought their blades down, which Leo was fortunately able to block. He let himself fall down, bringing the six ninja down with him. He thrusted his feet forward, kicking the front-most two away. He jumped high and performed a splits-kick to the heads of two more ninja before slashing at the last two, knocking them back.

Donatello twirled his staff, reading for the incoming ninja. Five charged forward, but he was able pole-vault over them. He swiped his staff, sweeping two ninja off his feet. He blocked one sword from one ninja before kicking him in the gut. He twirled his staff again and bashed one ninja in the head with one end of his staff and smacking the last one across the face with the other end.

Raphael had an eager smile as five ninja slowly approached them. "Bring it on." He challenged before they all jumped forward and he rushed towards them as well. He ducked under one sword and gave a punch to the gut of one ninja that sent him flying. He blocked another slash from the sword with his sais and snapped the blade off with a twist before kicking him hard in the face. A third tried to attack from behind but Raph grabbed him and threw him over to the remaining two, causing them to smack into the wall of the pyramid.

Michelangelo found himself surrounded by six more ninja. He gave a smile as he spun like a top, twirling his nunchucks, bashing all six ninja and causing them all to fall to the ground as he still twirled his weapons and held his tongue out slightly. "Cowabunga."

"Guys come on!" Leo rallied. "We got to stop Shredder, now!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Raph agreed as they all began to run up the steps. They heard a loud yell however, and looked up to see Hun diving towards them. He grabbed Raph and Don before they smacked down into the ground. Leo and Mikey then heard a pair of swords being unsheathed and looked up towards the steps to see Karai wielding her own katana blades.

"Mikey, go help Don and Raph with Hun, I'll handle Karai." Leo told his youngest brother.

"Uh dude, you don't exactly have a winning streak with her." Mikey reminded.

"I can handle it, go!" Leo ordered. Mikey nodded before running down, leaving Leo to face Karai alone.

Raph and Don groaned as they got up to see Hun glaring at them. "Well, well." Raph greeted. "If it isn't my favorite Neanderthal."

"Uh, Raph, let's not try to antagonize the super villain." Don advised.

"Aw come on Don." Mikey complained as he joined his brothers. "Antagonizing them is always the best part."

Hun cracked his enormous knuckles. "I've been looking forward to this, freaks."

"You're one to talk!" Mikey commented. "Seriously, how does a guy even _get_ muscles that big?! You hopped up on steroids or something?"

"That's it!" Hun yelled before charging forward, and the three turtles ran forward as well.

Hun jumped high and cupped his fists before brining them down onto the ground, forcing the three turtles to scatter. Mikey was first to go forward, flashing his nunchucks straight to Hun's chest, knocking him back a bit. It did little to deter Hun as he was more built than the average man. He smacked Mikey back before Don came in from behind and slammed his staff to the back of his calves, forcing Hun down on his knees before Raph came charging in sais first. Hun was however, quick enough, to grab Raph and throw him back to Don.

They groaned as they got up to see Hun slowly approach them with deadly intent.

* * *

Back on the stairway, Leo continued his sword duel with Karai, though Leo was holding back a bit.

"Karai, how are you still serving him?!" Leo questioned as he locked blades with her.

"You already know the answer to that, Leonardo." Karai responded as she threw her swords forward, forcing Leo to step down the stairway, as he was now on the defensive end.

"Do you even know what this place is Karai?" Leo asked as he ducked to avoid a slice from her left blade and blocking her right blade with both of his.

"Yes, this is doorway to the Nexus." Karai began. "A pathway to countless other worlds."

"And did you ever stop to ask yourself, why Shredder is looking into this place?" Leo asked again as he continued to block Karai's strikes. "It's because he's looking for another world to conquer and abuse! Wake up Karai, Shredder's pure evil!"

Karai tried to sweep Leo with her feet but he jumped over her to the higher stairs before he took the offensive. "I'm sorry Karai." Leo began. "But if you still stand with someone like him, then I _will_ stop you."

Leo now begun to attack, forcing Karai to take the defensive. His continuous sword strikes being blocked as he was forcing her down the stairway of the pyramid.

* * *

Back down below; Raph, Don, and Mikey we're defiantly giving Hun some trouble. They mostly stuck with hit-and-run attacks as they knew going one-on-one with a behemoth like him wasn't going to end well. Raph was first with a hard punch and a kick to the abs, knocking Hun back. He quickly got up and charged towards Raph who jumped back just as Donnie had now slammed his bo-staff at the back of Hun's head. He turned around to try and smash Don, only for him to jump back as well. Mikey was next with multiple nunchuck-smacks across the face, causing him to yell in pain and hold his bruised face.

Raph, Mikey, and Don all nodded to each other, as it was time to press the advantage. Hun opened his eyes just in time to hear their conjoined yell and see all three of them leaping high into the air and delivering fierce kicks; knocking Hun back to the wall of the pyramid and finally knocking him out.

"Sleep tight, Hunny. Don't let the bed-bugs bite." Mikey cracked as he, Don, and Raph all high-fived.

* * *

They looked up to see Leo finishing his duel up with Karai. She continued to block his assault. Leo slashed to the left, which she blocked, but he gave a kick to her chest forcing her back. He then swipped both his blades, knocking both of hers out of her hands. Leo finished by grabbing her arms and pinning them behind her back. He put his finger to a pressure point in her neck area, forcing her to loose consciousness. He gently set her down to the side. Karai may be the enemy, but she's not like the Shredder, and he wasn't about to harm her like he's planning to do for him.

"Geeze, don't be so hard on her or nothin'." Raph said sarcastically as he Don, and Mikey caught up.

"That all of them?" Leo asked, ignoring Raph's comment.

"Yep, that's all of them. Hun and the last of the Foot are taking a little nap." Don answered.

"Good, then it's time we pay a visit to an old friend." Leo stated.

* * *

"Stockman. I grow impatient!" Shredder said.

"I'm working as fast as I can!" Stockman exclaimed as he continued to despiser the ruins.

"Well work faster! Unless you'd like to receive further punishment." Shredder warned darkly, forcing the frightened, evil, scientist to work faster.

"Shredder!"

The evil leader of the Foot turned to see Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey all arrive, battle-ready, and glaring at their nemesis.

"Ugh! Failures! All of them!" Shredder exclaimed, referring to his subordinates. "I grow tired of you mutant freaks and your constant interference."

"Get used to it bucket-head!" Raph exclaimed.

"If it's what you prefer, I will finish you myself!" Shredder declared as he brandished his claws. "Stockman, continue your research, I will deal with these annoyances."

"Yes master." Stockman replied, not willing to argue with him.

The Turtles we're the first to charge forward. They all rushed him at once hopping to get the advantage. They we're proven wrong as he swiped them all back with a massive sweep of his legs. He ran forward this time, and they quickly dispersed.

Mikey and Raph charged in from behind, only for him to smack them back towards the center. Leo and Don stood in front of their downed brothers as Shredder ran forward again. Leo blocked a slash from Shredder's claws with his swords before Don tried to smack him in the side with his staff, only for Shredder to quickly kick him away. He grabbed Leo by the throat and threw him towards Don. Both rolled into the ring of stones that surrounded the center.

However, it seems the failed to notice the ruins and hieroglyphics on the stones began to glow a faint cyan blue color. It seemed the only one to notice this was Stockman as he began to look at them with interest.

Mikey tried to attack Shredder by flailing his nunchucks towards him, but Shredder was too quick for him to make contact. Shredder then thrusted multiple palm and fist strikes forward, the last one smacking into Mikey's face, knocking him to the very center of the circle of ruins, causing them to glow slightly brighter.

Raph was next as he lunged his sais forward. He was able to successfully scratch Shredder's armor a bit. But it only served to anger him as Shredder slashed towards Raph with his claws, forcing Raph back a bit. Shredder gave a hard kick to Raph, sending him flying onto the barley conscious Mikey at the center of the circle, causing the ruins to glow even brighter.

Don tried to strike Shredder across the head, but he quickly caught the staff in his hand before kicking Don back, who quickly flipped to his feet but it wasn't quick enough as Shredder was now standing in front of him. Shredder gave a hard right hook to send Don rolling across the ground towards the injured Mikey and Raph, which seemed to cause the ruins to glow even brighter than before. Stockman was now getting slightly worried at this point.

Leo stood there, swords at the ready. The two foes glared at each other before charging forward with yells. It was a great storm of metal clashing with metal. Leo was fast enough to keep up with Shredder, but not fast enough to attack, just defend himself. Shredder slashed with his claws repeatedly as Leo continued to block each strike that was dealt to him. Leo was able to kick him in the chest to force him back. The blue-clad Turtle then tried to press the advantage and charge forward, but Shredder caught both his blades in his claws before throwing them away, and landing near his downed brothers. Shredder then plunged his claws into Leo's abs earning a gasp from him before Shredder picked him up and threw him towards his brothers.

Shredder's claws dripped with blood as he slowly walked towards them. "At last, the end has come to you turltes."

However, the ruins quickly began to glow to a bright white. Stockman was forced to cover his eyes.

"What?!" Shredder questioned as he saw the ruins glow and the downed bodies of his enemies began to glow as well as it looked like a bright blue sphere of energy was encasing them. "The Nexus?! It's activating?! No!" He ran towards them.

Suddenly there was a sudden flash of light that flashed throughout the entire underground chamber; forcing Shredder to shield his eyes. Hun, Karai, and all the downed Foot Ninja woke up to this light and looked in amazement at the top of the pyramid before the light vanished.

When it did, Shredder looked to the center of the circle, only to see that his enemies we're no longer there.

* * *

High in the skies of the Earth Kingdom, Appa the Sky Bison, and the fateful companion of the Avatar soared above the landscape. At the reins was none other than Avatar Aang; sitting behind him in the large saddle we're his friends Katara, Toph, and Sokka.

"How long have we been flying on this thing? Can we please set down? I hate not being able to see." Toph complained.

"It's a lot faster this way than just walking Toph." Sokka told her.

"Hey, I'm still new to your little group, remember? I'm not quite used to flying." Toph replied.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Katara assured.

"So, guys. Anyone got an idea of where to go to next?" Aang asked.

However, before anyone can answer; they noticed a large flash of white light coming down from the forest far below. Aang was forced to stop his bison in the air, causing it to hover as they all shielded their eyes, minus Toph. The flash died down soon after.

"What the heck was that?!" Sokka exclaimed.

"What? What was what?" Toph questioned.

"A bright flash of light, that's what." Katara answered. "Any idea what that was Aang?"

"No idea." The Avatar answered. "But I'm gonna find out." He pulled on the reins and Appa began his descent towards the forest below.

* * *

Mikey, Raph, and Don groaned as they slowly got up.

"Ugh. Did anyone get the number of that psychopath who ran us down?" Mikey partly joked.

The Turtles looked at their surroundings and found themselves in the middle of a forest.

"What the… Where the shell are we?!" Raph exclaimed.

"I haven't the faintest idea." Don replied. They heard a certain groan, which caused them to look down towards to the ground, and their faces became filled with shock.

"Leo!" Raph exclaimed as he, Don, and Mikey kneeled to their lying brother. They looked to see the bleeding wound on his chest, which Don quickly covered with his hands.

"Don, is he gonna be okay?" Mikey asked with concern.

"His wound is pretty deep. He needs medical attention quickly." Don informed.

Raph growled in anger as he clenched his fists. "If I ever see old Shred-head again, I'm gonna…"

"Did you guys hear that? It sounded like voices?"

The three Turtles turned to the sound of that voice towards the sound of leaves rustling in the woods near them. The Turtles looked to see four kids walk out into the clearing only for three of them to stop with wide eyes as they saw the mutant turtles standing before them.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence between the two groups, which one of the kids seemed to pick up.

"Uh… guys? What are we looking at?" Toph asked.

"Oh nothing." Katara began, her eyes not shifting from where they still are. "Just four walking, talking, turtles."

Oddly enough Toph gave an amusing smile. "Cool."

"Well…. This is awkward." Mikey spoke out loud.

Sokka then quickly pulled out his boomerang and pointed it to the turtles. "Demons! We got demons!"

"Really? Demons?" Don questioned nonchalantly.

"First aliens, now demons? Geeze where do people come up with these excuses?" Raph questioned.

"Who or what are you guys?!" Sokka demanded.

"Whoa, Sokka hold on. We don't know anything about them." Katara tried.

"I don't care! You don't see giant turtles everyday!"

"Oh, just because we're out of the ordinary, you think we're evil or something?" Raph questioned. "This coming from a wimpy kid with a pony tail."

"Hey! This is a warrior's _wolf_ tail! Very manly!" Sokka exclaimed with a high pitch voice.

"Just about as manly as that girly voice of yours." Raph cracked, earning a glare from Sokka.

"I like this guy already." Toph whispered to herself.

Before anyone else could say anything, Leo groaned again in pain as Don continued to try and support him and hold his wound. "Raph, we don't have time for this."

Aang noticed the blood coming from the wound of one of the Turtles. "One of them is hurt!"

"Yeah, no duh baldy." Raph replied harshly.

"Raph." Don lightly scolded. "Listen, we don't mean you kids any harm. Our brother's hurt and he needs immediate medical attention."

"Seriously, you guys know a doctor or something we can take him to?" Mikey asked.

Aang and Katara looked to each other with worry. "Maybe I can help." Katara said as she walked forward but Sokka held his arm out in front.

"No, it's a trick! It's gotta be."

"Sokka!" Katara scolded.

"What?! We just find four demon turtles, and one of them just happens to be hurt? I'm not buying it."

"He's freaking bleeding! What more do you want?!" Raph angrily stated. "Or maybe you'd like it if I make _you_ bleed a little!"

"Is that a threat?!" Sokka questioned.

"It is if you're gonna try and hurt my brothers, kid!" Raph drew his sais.

Aang quickly stepped between the two before anything could start. "Sokka, no! We gotta help them."

"Why?! That one in red just threatened me!"

"You threatened _him_ first." Toph corrected. "And for the record, they're telling the truth."

"How do you know?" Sokka asked.

"When people, lie there's a physical reaction, I can sense that. And their not lying." Toph explained.

"Sokka, let me help him. He's hurt, what kind of people would we be if we let someone die?" Katara told him.

Sokka sighed as he was forced to concede. "Fine."

Don and Mikey lowered the injured Leo gently on the ground and set his head onto a large rock to prop him up. Katara kneeled down and saw the wound and looked with surprise, it was very deep, and it looked a bit like it was done with some form of claws.

"Can you help him?" Don asked.

"I think so, yeah." Katara replied as she opened the cap on her satchel and began to pull some water out, much to the surprise of Raph, Don and Mikey. Katara then bent the water around her hands in the form of a blob and placed it over Leo's wound, which began to glow a little bit.

Leo clenched as the water set in, but he felt a strong sense of relief take over as the bleeding stopped and the wound began to close. He slowly opened his eyes and looked to Katara.

"Thank you."

She smiled and nodded in response; while his brothers sighed in relief. Leo tried to get up, but a hand was extended towards him, it was towards the smiling Aang. Leo took his hand and was back up on his feet.

"How you feeling bro?" Mikey asked.

"Much better." Leo replied.

"You had us worried there for a second." Don told him.

"Not me." Raph said. "You're as tough as they come, no way you're letting a little cut get you down." Leo gave an amused response to his brother's gesture.

Toph could tell Raph was bluffing but chose to keep quiet.

Aang then spoke up. "So… who are you guys exactly?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Leo replied.

 **Done. The Turtles have now met the Gaang. What adventures are in store for our heroes?**

 **Find out on the next chapter of Worlds Collide.**


	2. Ninja Turtles vs Firebenders

**Hey everyone. Did you miss me? Now then, let's get started.**

 **Ninja Turtles vs. Firebenders**

It was around noon in the Earth Kingdom, our heroes all sat in a clearing. The four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sat on a series of rocks and across from Team Avatar.

"So… who are you guys exactly?" Katara asked.

"My name is Leonardo." The blue-clad turtle began. "These are my brothers; Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael."

"Nice to meet you all." Aang greeted with a smile. "My name is Aang, these are my friends Katara, her brother Sokka, and Toph."

"Sup." Toph said with a wave.

"Okay, introduction's out of the way then." Sokka stated. "What are you guys anyway? Spirits?"

"Uh… no." Don replied. "We're actually… mutants."

The earned curious looks from everyone present. "What's a mutant?" Katara asked.

"Well…" Don tried to explain. "A mutant is a creature, human or animal, that undergoes a drastic and unusual physical change, such as growing extra limbs, a tail, wings, stuff like that."

"Come on, that kind of thing is impossible." Sokka dismissed.

"Yeah this coming from a guy whose sister could control magic water with her mind." Raph stated, referring to when Katara healed Leo earlier.

"Yeah but that's Bending, that's totally normal." Sokka replied.

"What's Bending?" Mikey asked, earning looks of shock from everyone present.

"Okay, how can you not know what Bending is?" Toph questioned.

"Next thing you tell us is that you never heard of the Avatar before." Sokka said.

"Uh…" all the Turtles grimaced earning a jaw drop from Sokka.

"You've never heard of the Avatar?!" Katara questioned.

"No, not really." Leo replied.

"What _is_ an Avatar, exactly?" Mikey asked.

"Well Mikey, an avatar is a physical manifestation of a deity in a mortal form." Don translated.

"No, that's not an Avatar." Sokka corrected.

"Hold on." Aang interrupted. "Where are you guys from exactly? How can you not know about these things."

All the Turtles looked to each other a bit before Leo sighed. "This may come as a bit of a shock to all of you, but we may be actually from a different world."

Everyone, even Toph, could only look with wide-eyed shock at that statement.

"A different world?" Aang and Katara breathed at the same time.

"No way! That's impossible! There are only _two_ worlds: This world and the Spirit World!" Sokka exclaimed, being the skeptic.

"They're telling the truth." Toph said.

"What do you mean you guys are from a different world?" Aang asked.

"Well… how should I explain this?" Leo began. "We're from a world called Earth, more specifically a city called New York. We may have traveled to a different dimension via the Nexus."

"What's a Nexus?" Katara asked.

"A Nexus is an energy conduit." Don explained. "Think like a bridge that connects all the worlds together. Like branches on a tree. Only few people can find them, let alone use them."

"That's amazing!" Aang beamed. "There are more worlds out there."

"Yeah, that is pretty cool." Toph agreed. "So what's your story exactly?"

"If you guys are 'mutants' how are you like this…?" Sokka tried to ask. "Are there more of you?"

"Only a few." Don answered. "Mutants aren't a common sight where we're from."

"Yeah, usually anyone who sees us has the same reaction as pony-tail over there." Raph pointed to Sokka earning a glare from him. "Basically monsters."

"You guys don't seem like monsters." Aang said. "Monsters are evil, and you don't seem evil."

"Thanks for the complement, kid." Raph thanked.

"So what _is_ your story?" Katara asked.

The Turtles all looked each other before sighing. "It's a long story, so listen carefully." Leo began to tell their tale. "It starts off with a stray rat in the city of New York, the rat saw a boy with a glass jar with four pet baby turtles. There was an accident, a blind man was crossing the street and almost run down by a large truck."

"Truck?" Toph asked.

"A vehicle." Don answered.

"Anyway." Leo continued. "As the truck swerved, a metal canister bounced out of the back. The boy accidentally dropped the jar and the turtles inside, both the turtles and the canister fell into the sewers of the city, when the canister smashed open it released glowing ooze, which covered the turtles. The rat saw this and gathered the turtles, while also getting covered in the ooze to. The next day, the turtles and the rat grew to enormous size, while also increasing their own intelligence. Those turtles became us."

"So this… magic ooze turned four normal turtles into… mutant turtles?" Sokka guessed trying to find the right words for it.

"Pretty much." Mikey replied.

"What about the rat?" Aang asked.

"The rat also mutated, like us, he could now walk and talk like a normal person. The rat's name is Splinter and he took us in. You could say he's our adoptive father." Leo explained.

"You we're raised by a rat?" Sokka questioned.

"That rat happens to be the best guy you'll ever meet kid." Raph responded to Sokka rather harshly.

"Okay then…" Aang interrupted, trying to prevent an argument. "So you guys live in a sewer?"

"We kinda have to." Leo answered. "We find people treat us better when they don't know we exist."

"Mutants aren't a common sight in our world, or this world either apparently." Don replied.

"We usually get called aliens, monsters, demons, stuff like that." Mikey added.

"But why would people treat you guys like that?" Katara questioned.

"Because we're different." Leo replied. "People are afraid of what they don't understand, and that fear can sometimes turn into hatred."

"I'm sorry." Katara said with sympathy evident in her voice.

"Well it's only because people didn't take the time to get to know you guys better." Aang began. "I'm sure if they did, you'd all get along real well."

"Some people know about us and are good friends." Don said. "Others… not so much."

"I still got a question." Toph spoke up. "If you guys are from a different world, how'd you get here?

"Well like we said." Leo explained. "It was from the Nexus. One of our enemies was trying to use it for himself, we tried to stop him, and we ended up here."

"That explains why you we're hurt." Aang deduced to Leo.

"So who is this enemy of yours?" Sokka asked.

The Turtles all grimaced a bit at that. "That's a story for another time." Leo replied, really not wanting to talk about _him_ unless they absolutely need to.

"So that's our story." Raph spoke up. "What's yours? What's this Bending and Avatar stuff?"

Katara then reached into her pack and pulled out a map. "Well our world is divided into four different nations; the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Air Nomads, and the Fire Nation." She showed the world map to the Turtles.

"Your nations are associated with the elements?" Leo asked. "Why?"

"Well it's because of our bending." Katara explained. "Bending is like a form of martial art, many people in our world have special chi that allows them to control one of the elements. I'm a Waterbender so you saw me control the water."

"I'm an Airbender." Aang spoke up. "So I can control the air." He formed is Air-Scooter and began to move around in circles around the Turtles, earning looks of surprise from all of them.

"Awesome!" Mikey exclaimed with a large smile.

"You think that's cool…" Toph began as she stood up. "Check this out." She made a stance and thrusted her arm forward, which created a large earth pillar under Sokka, sending him flying into the air, screaming like a girl before landing hard on his butt.

"Let me guess…" Raph began with a cocked smile. "Earthbending?"

"Yep." Toph replied as she spat to the ground.

"I think I like this kid." Raph said to himself.

"So Sokka, are you a bender?" Don asked.

"No I'm not." He replied. "But I am good with a boomerang." He smiled as he showed off his trusty boomerang.

"A boomerang huh?" Raph questioned. "Meh."

"What do you mean 'meh'?" Sokka questioned. "Boomerang has never once failed me!"

"That thing ain't a weapon, it's a toy." Raph corrected.

Sokka got right up into Raph's face. "I hate you." He comically said before Katara pulled him away.

"Sorry about that, he's very…" Katara apologized.

"I get it, I got my own." Raph replied, gesturing to a certain orange-clad turtle.

"Hey!" Mikey replied.

"So." Leo began. "What about Firebenders?"

"Those guys are pure evil!" Sokka exclaimed, earning looks of surprise from the Turtles.

"Sokka come on, they're not ALL bad, we've seen a few good Firebenders." Aang told him.

Sokka crossed his arms as he turned away.

"Something we should know about?" Don asked.

"You see our world is sort of at war." Aang answered.

"War?" Leo questioned.

"Yeah, for a hundred years." Aang added.

"A HUNDRED YEARS?!" Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey all questioned at the same time.

"You see, long ago…" Katara began. "The Four Nations lived together in harmony, but that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Their leader, the Fire Lord, is trying to conquer the world and the only one who can stop him is the Avatar, the master of all four elements."

"This Avatar-guy sounds pretty cool." Mikey said with a smile. "Almost like a super hero. So who is he?"

"Oh, that's me. I'm the Avatar." Aang answered.

The Turtles looked quite surprised at him to say the least.

"You." Raph said to which Aang nodded. "You're the Avatar." Aang nodded again. "How old are you? Nine?"

"I'm actually twelve."

"A twelve year old kid is the master of the elements?" Raph questioned. "Yeah, I don't see it."

"Okay, what exactly is the Avatar?" Leo asked.

"The Avatar is basically the guardian of the whole world." Katara explained. "He's charged with maintaining peace."

"And they leave it to some kid?" Mikey questioned.

"Actually the Avatar isn't just Aang." Katara replied. "Whenever the Avatar dies, he is reincarnated into another person. First it's an Airbender, then a Waterbender, then an Earthbender, then a Firebender, and back to Air."

"A reincarnation cycle, fascinating." Don observed.

"So you can bend all the elements?" Leo asked Aang.

"Well not yet. I mean I'm already good with Air, Katara and Toph here are teaching me Water and Earth."

"What about Fire?" Raph asked.

"We're still working on that." Sokka replied.

"Yeah it's kinda hard to do when there's a whole country of Firebenders who hate us." Toph chimed in.

"And we're on a bit of a tight schedule to." Sokka added.

"What do you mean?" Don asked.

"Well every 100 years." Aang began. "There's a comet that comes, and it gives the Firebenders unbelievable power. It's supposed to arrive by the end of the Summer and when it does, the Fire Nation will have all the power they need to win the war."

"So some comet makes them stronger?" Raph questioned. "Magic world, crazy logic."

"They already used that power before, a hundred years ago, to start the war." Aang said as he looked down. "By whipping out my people."

The Turtles we're especially surprised at that statement.

"Your own people?!" Leo questioned.

"My predecessor, Avatar Roku." Aang began "Died over a hundred years ago, and I was next incarnation. The Fire Nation didn't want me to stand in their way so they… knowing I was the next Avatar I…" He couldn't finish as tears we're forming and Katara pulled him into a hug.

Each of the Turtles had their own look of sympathy towards Aang.

"Dude…" Mikey said in a low tone. "That's deep."

"I am really sorry." Leo stated.

Raph in particular was quite angry. "If I see that Fire Lord guy, I'm gonna pound him so deep in the ground he's gonna think he's a fossil!" Toph gave a small smirk at that.

"Listen, I don't mean to sound unsympathetic or anything." Don began, getting their attention. "But if that was a hundred years ago, how are you still….?"

"Twelve?" Aang finished. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well I was kinda frozen for a hundred years."

The Turtles had, once again, found themselves quite surprised.

"YOU WE'RE FROZEN FOR A WHOLE CENTURY!?" They all yelled.

"Yeah." Aang replied.

"At this point, nothing else will surprise me ever again" Raph stated, giving up at this point.

"Really? How about a huge column of smoke over there." Don pointed. They all looked to where he was pointing and saw a large thing of smoke rise into the air.

"What is that?" Sokka asked.

"Maybe a forest fire?" Leo guessed.

"No, I remember we past a village back there." Katara remembered until all their eyes widened.

"It's gotta be Firebenders!" Aang realized. He quickly took out his bison whistle and blew into it. It wasn't long after that that Appa came roaring in and landed in front of the group.

"What the Shell is that?!" Raph exclaimed.

"That's Appa, my flying bison." Aang answered.

"Flying bison?" Mikey questioned. "Cool."

Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka quickly climbed on. "Where are you guys going?" Leo asked.

"We're gonna help." Sokka replied. "You guys stay here."

"Hey, we can help." Don stated.

"Firebenders are dangerous." Katara replied. "We don't want you guys getting hurt."

"Oh so a couple of kids then are gonna fight them?" Raph questioned.

"Someone has to." Aang replied. "And I am the Avatar. Yip yip!" Appa soared towards the direction of the smoke, leaving the four turtles alone.

"Did they just ditch us?" Raph questioned.

"I think they did." Don replied.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Mikey stated. "It's time for some shell-kicking action!"

"Hold on Mikey." Leo stopped. "I'm not sure getting involved in a war is the best idea."

"Seriously?" Raph questioned. "Did you not hear what these Fire-Punks did? They deserve a MAJOR beat down, and I'm gonna give it to em!" He said as he cracked his knuckles.

"But what about Master Splinter…" Leo tried.

"Leo, we don't even know where the Nexus point is in this world, or anything about this world." Don replied.

"Besides, weren't you always telling us to do the right thing bro?" Mikey asked.

Leo took a moment to think as his brothers looked towards him. A look of determination formed on the turtle's face. "Lets do it."

"Alright, now we're talking!" Raph eagerly said.

The Turtles then leaped onto a tree and from branch to branch until the reached the top and saw Appa in the distance heading towards the smoke.

"We can catch up to them." Leo stated.

"If we run like crazy." Donnie added.

"Is there any other way to run?" Raph questioned sarcastically.

"Last one there hatched form a rotten egg!" Mikey challenged as the Turtles began to leap from tree-top to tree-top using their ninja speed and agility to gracefully soar through the trees to their intended location, with Mikey shouting "wahoo!"

* * *

A small village was in the state of complete panic as multiple men, women, and children ran for their lives as at least twenty Fire Nation soldiers we're now laying siege. Firebenders blasted flames in nearly every direction, setting multiple buildings on fire. Those who weren't benders we're using arrows, spears, and swords, laying destruction to many stands and homes.

Appa soared above the chaos and the passengers all could look down in shock at what has happening.

"This is horrible!" Aang exclaimed.

"We have to get down there and…" Katara began.

"LOOK OUT!" Sokka shouted as a lightning bolt shot straight up towards them. Appa moved out of the way just in time, but in doing so, crashed into a nearby tree. The crash forced Appa to land painfully onto the ground, forcing the Gaang to get off and come face-to-face with the attacker.

"My, my, you're rather easy to find. It's really a surprise that my brother hasn't captured you yet" Azula said as she stood with her sidekicks, Mai and Ty-Lee.

"You!" Aang scowled as he, Katara, Sokka, and Toph quickly took fighting stances. "Why are you here? Why are you doing this?"

"To draw you out of course." Azula answered. "You're so predictable, Avatar. If these so called, innocent people are in danger, your arrogance wouldn't allow you to leave them."

That earned a glare from Katara and Aang especially.

"Well it worked, cause I'm here now." Aang growled. "Come and get me."

* * *

A young mother was protecting her son as a Firebender was approaching her with sinister intention. "Don't worry my child." The mother consoled. "It'll all be over soon." The mother closed her eyes as the son could only look.

The Firebender was ready to attack when suddenly a flash of green knocked the Firebender down off his feet and into a stack of barrels.

"Mommy look!"

The mother looked in honest surprise as she saw four humanoid Turtles standing in front of her facing the Firebenders. Said group of Firebenders had their own look of shock and terror.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Leo challenged as he stood with his brothers.

"Wha.. wha… WHAT IN THE NAME OF SOZIN…!?" One Firebender shouted as his eyes popped out of his helmet.

"What are they?!" Another soldier questioned.

"Sprits? No Demons! Their demons!" Another Firebender shouted, earning an eye-roll from Raph.

"I don't care what they are." The leader of the Firebenders stated. "They are standing in our way, teach them a lesson!"

The Turtles then drew each of their weapons. Donnie drew his bo-staff and twirled it in both his hands before slamming it on the ground and dragging the end and taking a battle-stance. Mikey twirled his nunchucks, while sticking his tongue out, before putting the upper ends of his weapons in his arms. Raph wielded both his sais as he twirled them as well, motioning a few kicks before taking a stance. Leo drew both his katana blades and made multiple slices, the scattered leaves around him became bits as an unseen force cut through them.

"It's Ninja Time!" They all shouted as they leaped forward feet first.

Don gave a strong kick to the abs of one soldier and sent him flying. He ducked under one fire blast before swerving and kicking the soldier off his feet. At least four soldiers surrounded him bearing either flames or weapons. They yelled as the charged forward. Don twirled his staff in front of himself like a helicopter blade and quickly moved in a circle, nailing each soldier, sending them rolling back. Another fire bender was about to shoot him in the distance only for Don to use his staff to pole-vault over him and slam him in the back with his staff, sending him flying as well.

Mikey ran towards a group of Firebenders who all shot streams of fire towards him. Mikey twirled his nunchucks in front of him, and they seemed to have deflected the fire. Once they stopped he jumped high and fell down towards them. "COWOBUNGA!" He shouted as his feet landed on the faces of two Firebenders. As soon as he landed he flashed his nunchucks behind and nailed two more Firebenders. He began to twirl around like a top, nailing each of the soldiers before they even knew what hit them.

Two soldiers we're sent flying into a stand of certain vegetables. "MY CABAGES!" The owner of the stand shouted as another Firebender was tossed there, smashing the surviving cabbages.

"Yeah! Who what's some?!" Raph eagerly challenged as he charged forward. One soldier tried to bring a sword down onto him only for him to catch it in-between his sais and snap it with the twist of his sais. He grabbed the soldier by the throat and threw him into a group of incoming soldiers. Raph jumped to avoid another fire blast and land a hard kick on the head, breaking the helmet completely as the soldier fell down. Raph ducked under three Firebenders' fire-jabs and quickly tackled all three of them as he got up. All three we're then tossed into wall and broke through as they hit it.

An archer shot arrows towards Leo as he sliced through all of them before rushing the archer and slicing the bow with his katana before kicking him away. At least five Firebenders tried to blast him only for Leo to jump high and start jumping on each of their heads before landing behind. He charged back towards them, blades-blazing. All we're sent flying in multiple directions as Leo swerved through them like a mighty wind.

All four turtles stood together surrounded by at least two-dozen fallen Firebenders.

"Now that was fun." Raph said excitedly.

"All in a days work." Leo added.

"TURTLES RULE!" All four shouted as they high-fived and slammed their shells on each other.

There was a stream of blue fire sent into the air a bit of distance away, which caught all their attention.

"How much do you wanna bet Aang and his friends are there right now?" Don asked sarcastically.

"Looks like someone's giving him some trouble." Mikey observed.

"So let's give them some trouble!" Raph eagerly exclaimed.

"For once Raph, I agree." Leo said. "Let's move!"

All four Turtles ran in that direction, just as the villagers all slowly came out. They each had their own look of honest surprise as they had just seen what happened, but still find it rather difficult to believe.

* * *

Mai shot multiple knives towards Toph as she created an earth-wall to block them but Mai slid far to the left and shoot many more daggers in her direction but Toph coated her right arm in rock to block them all before thrusting forward and sending an earth-pillar in that direction, forcing Mai to jump backwards.

Sokka was doing his best to avoid Ty-Lee's relentless jabs towards his limbs, wanting to avoid being chi-blocked again. However he wasn't quick enough as Ty-Lee quickly jumped in front of him and jabed his right arm and left leg, causing him to trip as he lost all feeling in those limbs.

"Aw not again." He grimaced.

Toph sent a rock in Mai's direction but she leaped over it, and used it like a springboard to get behind Toph and grab her before thrusting her to a tree and pinning her to it with her knives, keeping her off the ground.

"Hey put me down!" Toph exclaimed. "Put me down so I can smack you senseless!"

"Uh, no." Mai said dryly as Ty-Lee back flipped towards her.

"I see you got things taken care of here." Ty-Lee observed with a cheeky smile.

"Still pretty boring though." Mai said.

"Mind if we make it more interesting for ya?"

They turned around only to look in surprise as Raph, Mikey, and Don stood opposing them with weapons at the ready.

"Guys! What are you doing here?!" Sokka questioned.

"Woah!" Ty-Lee said in joyful surprise. "Their turtles! That's amazing!"

"Amazingly _freaky_ , is more like it." Mai corrected as she was more surprised than she'd ever been in her life.

"Heh, don't thing we're gonna go easy on ya, just because you're girls." Raph eagerly said.

"These girls are dangerous! Get out of here now!" Sokka yelled.

"Man, I wish I could see right now." The still-pinned Toph said, had a feeling what was going to happen.

Raph, Don, and Mikey charged forward to Mai and Ty-lee who charged back.

* * *

Aang and Katara we're both fighting against Azula. She kept going back-and-forth, shooting streaks of blue fire towards them to keep them both back. Katara thrusted a water whip forward but Azula swerved under it and gave a fire-kick to break apart the whip before sending a wave of blue fire with a sweep of her legs to knock Katara back. She then swerved to the side to avoid an air-blast from Aang and retaliated with a thrust of both arms sending a large stream of fire towards him, which he blocked by twirling his staff; this gave her plenty of cover to come in close to him and send a flaming punch to his chest knocking him back to a tree.

Katara tried to send a steam of water behind Azula only for her to jump and propel herself above Katara with fire from her feet before landing behind her and sending a ball of fire with a thrust from her right leg, which Katara wasn't able to block in time. The force was enough to send Katara flying straight towards Aang. Azula shot a beam of fire over a large branch that severed it from the tree and sent it falling on top of the two.

They both struggled to get out, only to see Azula slowly walking towards them with a blue flame in each hand. It looked hopeless until a green foot gave a kick to her chest, which sent her back. She quickly recovered back on her feet and looked in honest surprise as to what stood in front of her.

"It doesn't take a whole of guts to attack a kid." Leo stated as he stood in front of Aang and Katara.

"Leo?! What are you doing here?!" Aang yelled.

"I'm sorry… but who are you?" Azula asked the turtle.

"I'm the one who's gonna give you serious beat down if you don't back off right now." Leo replied.

"Leo, no! She's dangerous! You can't take her by yourself!" Katara warned.

"You should listen to the Waterbender." Azula recommended. "I'm not sure what you are, but my business is with the Avatar. If you back off, I might forget your interference."

"Tempting, but no." Leo said.

"You don't know who you're dealing with do you?" Azula asked.

"Should I?"

"Yes, my name is Azula, and I am the Princess of the Fire Nation."

"Princess huh?" Leo questioned. "That supposed to mean something?"

"What?"

"I honestly don't care who you are, where your from, or any of that stuff." Leo began. "All I see is a bully and a coward. It doesn't take any special talent or anything to try and fight a kid, Avatar or not. I do not take kindly to anyone who threatens innocent lives. So if you want Aang, you have to go through me first. You're highness." Leo drew his blades, as he stood ready.

Azula gave an amused smile. "Well if your that eager to take your final breath, I'd be happy to oblige you." Azula sent a stream of fire forward but Leo quickly swerved to the side and leapt towards her at incredible speed.

Leo landed in front of her just as Azula thrusted a flaming dagger forward only for Leo to duck and slice upwards a bit, causing Azula to stumble back. Once she gained some distance, she felt something roll down her left cheek. She placed a finger there and looked to see some blood, much to her surprise as she slowly looked towards Leo, a small bit of blood dripping from the tip of his left blade.

"I don't fall that easily." Leo challenged.

Azula's look of shock became one of anger as she blew more fire towards Leo, which he avoided and charged towards her.

* * *

Mikey jumped from tree-branch to tree-branch with Ty-Lee chasing him. Mikey leaped high on a branch before throwing some shurikens to break and sever the branch that Ty-Lee was about to land on. But she leaped onto the falling branch and jumped to perform multiple flips before landing on the branch across from Mikey gracefully.

"So you got some moves huh?" Mikey noted with a slight smile. He then twirled his nunchucks to show off as he put his left one on his foot as it continued to twirl. He threw them both in the air and flipped on his hands to catch them on his feet, still twirling them before straightening back up. "Huh? Huh?"

Ty-Lee was actually quite impressed. "Wow you're good. It's too bad we're enemies. You're fun, I really like you."

"You're pretty fun yourself." Mikey complemented. "But you're with the bad guys, so I'm kinda gonna have to kick your but now. Try not to take it personally."

"Oh you're such a gentleman." Ty-Lee said with a smile. "But I'm not gonna be beaten so easily. Sorry."

She jumped onto the same branch as Mikey and began to make multiple jabs towards him, but he was quick enough to avoid most of them.

Down below the trees, Raph back-flipped to avoid many of Mai's incoming knives and daggers. Don tried to come in from behind with the staff but she jumped out of the way, as she was in the air she tossed many daggers to Don who twirled his staff like a helicopter blade to intercept all the daggers.

As soon as she landed, Mai found herself avoiding the many jabs of Raph's sais. "You're pretty good at a distance, but let's see you up close and personal, sweetheart." Raph stated

Mai grabbed Raph's right wrist and pinned him down to the ground and readied a knife, but Raph gave a back flip kick to Mai's jaw to knock her back. As soon as she recovered she was greeted by a staff-strike from Don to the side to send her rolling back but she quickly recovered on her feet.

"I like you're little trick with the knives." Raph complemented. "Here's mine!" Raph threw his sais forward, which Mai wasn't quick enough to avoid as they impaled the sides of her sleeves and pinned her to a nearby tree, giving Don an opening to slam the staff to her abs, knocking the wind out of her, and knocking her unconscious.

Raph and Don then looked up on the tree-branch to see Mikey continuing to avoid Ty-Lee's jabs. He back-flipped onto the side of one tree before propelling forward and flashing a nunchuck which Ty-lee was barley able to avoid. Mikey then went on the offensive, swinging at a fast rate, and forcing Ty-Lee to move and swerve out of the way. She jumped and landed behind and Mikey was able to duck his head to avoid a jab before kicking back, which Ty-Lee avoided to by jumping back to another branch.

"You know, it's almost like we're doing a dance." Ty-Lee observed, still smiling. "And for a turtle, you're kinda cute."

"Sorry lady, you're not my type." Mikey replied as he jumped behind her and grabbed her hands, pinning them behind her back. Mikey gave a kick to her back and she came face-first to a tree as it knocked her out and she laid flat on the branch.

Mikey then put a hand to his chin. "Although, add a shell and a touch of green, you might have something."

"Hey if you're done flirting we could some help down here!" Don called to Mikey as he jumped down.

They walked towards the Chi-blocked Sokka and the still pinned Toph.

"Did you guys get them?" Toph asked.

"We got em kid." Raph assured.

"You got them?" Sokka questioned. "Eh, must have been luck."

Raph shook his head. "Yeah, we're not looking for your approval pony-tail."

"Uh hey, do you mind?" Toph spoke up. "Can't quite see when I'm pinned up here to a tree."

"What do you mean you can't see?" Mikey questioned. "You blind or something?"

"Funny you should mention that." Toph stated.

"Wait, YOU'RE BLIND?!" Don questioned.

"Duh." Toph drolled. "Now let me down, so I can see."

"But how can…" Don began.

"Look, I'll explain when I get out of this, NOW GET ME DOWN!"

"Hold your horses kid, I'm coming." Raph said as he removed the knives that kept Toph pinned to the tree and she landed on the ground.

"Aw, much better."

"Hey, I can still use a little help here!" Sokka called out as he was still chi-blocked.

"You paralyzed or something?" Mikey questioned.

"You could say that." Sokka replied.

"Hang on." Don got down on his knees and flipped Sokka so that his back faced-upward. He looked and felt on his neck right before brining a finger hard on his spinal-cord at the back of his neck.

"OW!" Sokka yelled as he snapped back to his feet. "Hey! Why did…?" He stopped his rant when he realized he was back on his feet and all sensation returned to his limbs. "How'd you do that?"

"Pressure points." Don replied. "I'll explain the details later, right now, we gotta help the others."

Don, Sokka, Raph, Toph, and Mikey then ran off to help their friends.

* * *

Leo continued his battle with Azula. He was quick enough to keep up with her, to which she had to take note not to underestimate this turtle. Their battle had moved towards a cliff where a river laid at least sixteen feet below. Azula blasted a large arc of fire forward with a downward swipe of her hand, which Leo quickly swerved left to avoid resulting in him coming straight forward and swinging his right blade horizontally, causing Azula to limbo underneath it and back-flip to get some distance. She then began to move her hand in a certain pattern and generate some electricity.

"You're pretty fast." Azula said. "But are you faster than this?!" She shot a bolt of lighting forward, and Leo was quick enough to limbo underneath just as the bolt almost grazed his face, and he quickly stood back up.

"Lighting? Didn't see that coming." Leo spoke to himself as Azula charged forward with a flaming dagger towards Leo's face but he used the bottom of his blade's handle to force her hand straight up, causing her to shoot the fire straight upwards. This gave Leo an opening to kick her in the abs, forcing her back.

Leo took a few deep breaths, as this wasn't exactly an easy fight. Azula gave a sharp glare at him, bad enough that he stood in her way and cut her, but was able to go on par with her one-on-one, no one has ever done that to her in her life.

"I admit." Azula growled. "You're good. But you are not going to win this."

"You sure about that?"

Azula ducked in time to avoid a flying kick from Raph as he landed and quickly stood next to Leo. Azula saw two shadows and looked up to see Don and Mikey falling down towards her, weapons held high. Azula back-flipped out of the way as the two turtles slammed their weapons on the ground and quickly jumped towards their brothers.

"How many of you are there?!" Azula questioned.

"What's the matter, can dish it out, but can't take it kid?" Raph cracked, earning a glare from Azula.

Aang and Katara we're still pinned down by the tree, having a hard time believing this. Leo alone was able to go one-on-one with Azula in what appeared to be an evenly matched fight, but now the other Turtles had come in as well and it looked like Azula was in quite a bit of trouble. They felt the branch being lifted off of them and saw that it was Toph and Sokka who quickly helped the two up.

"You guys okay?" Sokka asked.

"Where fine, but what about those other girls?" Katara questioned.

"Oh; Raph, Mikey, and Don took them out." Toph answered, earning a look of surprise from both of them.

"You're serious?!" Aang questioned. "They beat them?!"

"It was just luck." Sokka dismissed.

"Well shouldn't we help them?!" Katara asked as she gestured to all four Turtles.

"Hang on Sugar Queen." Toph said before they we're ready to charge in. "I've got a good feeling about this."

Azula glared at the four Turtles who dared oppose her. "What are you exactly? The Avatar's servants?"

"The only thing we're serving are your cronies on a plate!" Raph replied. "Well done."

"You beat an entire battalion?" Azula questioned.

"Yep, and you're next." Don stated.

"Exactamundo!" Mikey cheered. "You're set to get a nice can of kick-butt-Ninja-action!"

With that all four Turtles charged forward to Azula. She was forced to send a stream of blue fire forward to separate them. Don came in from the right with the swing of his staff, but Azula jumped back and sent a plum of blue fire with the thrust of her legs. Don twirled his staff to shield himself but the force blew him back. As soon as Azula landed, she was stuck avoid the assault of Mikey's nunchucks. She created a horizontal arc of fire with the sweep of her legs, which Mikey jumped over to avoid, landing behind her and pinning her hands behind her back.

"Like my _disarming_ personality?" Mikey joked. Which resulted in Azula switching the grip on Mikey and flipping him over her. She noticed out of the corner of her eye the incoming Raph. She moved to avoid his lunge but a swipe from his right-sai hit her in the back, causing her to roll back. She could feel the cut wasn't too deep but he still cut her a bit.

"You scratch my back, I scratch yours!" Raph cracked as he ran forward again but Azula sent a stream of fire straight towards him. He was forced to brace himself, as he couldn't avoid it, the force sent him rolling back.

Azula ducked to avoid a staff swipe from Don and a kick from him hit her in the chest and she came closer to the cliff behind her. When Don charged forward she leaped and gave two swipes of her legs to send two vertical arcs of fire towards Don, forcing him to jump back as they exploded on the ground. Leo leaped through the smoke and landed in front of her.

Leo and Azula shared glares with each other before both charging towards each other. Azula created two blue flaming daggers in her hands and swipped them towards Leo's face as he ducked and sliced his blades towards her, which she was quick enough to avoid. With a fire-swipe, she knocked the blades away from Leo's hands, much to his surprise. A sinister grin formed on her face.

"This was to be expected." Azula began. "Because no matter the opponent, the fact remains: I never loose!"

Azula quickly generated more electricity and was about to shoot it but Leo quickly grabbed her wrist and forced her to shoot the lighting away. "There's a first time for everything!" Leo stated as he pushed her away.

Going for the offensive he jumped towards her before she could recover and performed multiple feet jabs in the air to her chest, forcing her to back up closer and closer to the cliff until one final kick sent her off the cliff and screaming down where she splashed into the river below.

Leo landed on the edge of the cliff, the victor of this match.

Aang and Katara had wide smiles on their faces at this while Toph had a smirk. However, Sokka's jaw dropped in disbelief before he fainted.

Leo took quite a few deep breaths, as this was a very exhilarating fight. His brothers slowly came up to him.

"Nice going Leo." Don congratulated.

"Awesome as usual." Mikey complemented.

Raph walked up to Leo with his katanas. "Here bro." Raph handed Leo's weapons to him.

"Thanks Raph." Leo replied before Aang and Katara came running to them.

"THAT WAS AMAZING!" Aang exclaimed.

"How'd you learn to fight like that?!" Katara excitedly asked. "I've never seen anything like that!"

"That kids, is Ninja-Training." Mikey replied.

"Ninja?" Aang asked. "What's a ninja?"

"We'll explain later." Leo replied. "For now I think we should go."

"Not bad, guys." Toph complemented as she carried the fainted Sokka over her shoulder. "Not bad."

"Thanks kid." Raph replied as he ruffled her hair.

* * *

About twenty minutes later; Aang, Leo, Katara, Raph, Toph, Mikey, Sokka, and Don we're now on Appa as he soared through the air.

"Incredible!" Don marveled at Appa. "This thing can fly and it doesn't even have wings!"

"You hear that Appa?" Aang said as he patted his bison's head. "Don thinks you're cool"

Appa gave a grateful groan in response.

Mikey found himself petting Momo. "Oh, who's a cute little lemur? You are. Yes you are." The lemur purred in response.

"Okay I admit it." Sokka began. "You guys are good."

"Not just good, you we're amazing!" Katara marveled.

"Those three girls gave us trouble before, but you took them down like it was nothing." Toph complemented.

"Well to be fare, they we're pretty strong." Leo complemented. "That Azula-girl sure didn't make it easy."

"But how'd you guys learn to fight like that?" Aang asked.

"Splinter taught us." Mikey answered.

"The rat?" Sokka questioned. "The rat taught you to fight?"

"Before he mutated, Master Splinter was a pet rat owned by Hamato Yoshi a master of Ninjitsu."

"What's Ninjitsu?" Katara asked.

"An ancient martial art in our world." Don explained. "It focuses primarily on stealth and power along with the use of many weapons, and some wisdom along the way as well."

"Splinter would watch Yoshi practice Ninjitsu and learned the many moves and styles that came with it." Leo added. "But the most important aspect of Ninjitsu isn't just combat, it's honor. That is something both Yoshi and Master Splinter excel at."

"This Yoshi guy sounds pretty tough." Toph stated.

"We'd definitely like to meet him." Aang said.

The Turtles looked down at that. "Unfortunately, Yoshi passed away a few years ago."

Smiles in the group vanished. "I'm sorry to hear that." Katara replied. "A few years ago, when the Fire Nation raided our tribe, my mother was killed."

Leo put hand on her shoulder. "My deepest condolences."

Sokka felt like saying something without trying to be insensitive. "But I'm sure this Splinter guy is pretty cool if you taught you guys how to fight that well."

The smiles returned. "Oh, yeah." Raph stated. "Awesome doesn't even begin to describe him."

"You'd definitely like him." Mikey added.

"Hey guys listen." Aang began. "Thanks for your help. It really meant a lot."

"No problem, we actually wanted to ask you." Leo started. "How'd you like our help in taking down the Fire Lord?"

To say that the Gaang was surprised would be an understatement.

"You'd really help us?" Sokka asked.

"But don't you guys have to get back to your own world?" Katara asked.

"You guys got a major war going on, and Master Splinter always taught us to help those in need." Leo replied.

"Besides, we pretty much already declared war on these guys the moment we took down their princess." Don said as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ain't turning back now." Raph added. "Besides, I'm planning on introducing His Royal Hot-ness to my two best friends. Fist number 1 and Fist number 2." Raph gestured to his fists.

"I'm liking you more and more Raph." Toph said with a smile. "You got some serious guts."

"Besides." Mikey began. "We've been through all sorts of crazy stuff before, this really isn't any different."

"We're with you Aang, all the way." Leo said.

Aang gave a grateful smile, as did Katara, Toph, and Sokka. "Thanks guys." The Avatar said.

"Well then; Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael. Welcome to Team Avatar!" Sokka announced.

 **Done.**

 **What did you all think of that? I worked hard on this chapter and I hope you like it.**

 **The Turtles and Team Avatar have joined forces. What's next for our heroes? Find out next time on Worlds Collide.**


	3. The Library

**Hi everybody, sorry for the long wait. I've had quite a lot to do in regards to work and school, well enough of that. Let's get started. Remember, this is based of the 2003 TMNT series.**

 **The Library**

Appa continued to soar through the skies with Aang sitting at the reins with Leo, Katara, Raph, Toph, Don, Sokka, and Mikey in the saddle. The Gaang spent the last few days telling the Turtles about the war and some of their adventures; finding Aang in the ice-berg, being chased by Zuko while traveling to the North Pole, Zhao's' assault on the North Pole, meeting Toph, Aang now learning Earthbending and Waterbending. The Turtles we're quite impressed with the kids' accomplishments to say the least.

"Okay, so explain how you can see if your blind." Leo asked.

"I don't _see_ like you normal folk." Toph answered. "I use Earthbending to see; it's kinda like seeing with my feet. I feel the vibrations in the earth and I can use it to see everything around me."

"Like a form of subterranean sonar." Don deduced. "Fascinating."

"Cool." Mikey added. "But this Avatar State sounds even cooler."

"It's not all that cool." Aang replied.

"What do you mean it's not cool?" Raph questioned. "You can create massive tidal waves, earthquakes, even freaking tornadoes! You're practically a kick-butt Superhero!"

"The Avatar State is still dangerous." Aang said. "On top of that, I can't use it all the time, it's when I'm most vulnerable."

"What do you mean?" Leo asked.

"It's when I'm connected to my Avatar Spirit and all my past lives; if I'm killed in the Avatar State, the cycle is broken and the Avatar is gone forever."

"I get it, so it's like a method of last resort." Don guessed.

"Yeah, pretty much." Aang replied

"On top of that, he can still accidentally hurt others around him, so it's not a power to use all the time." Katara added.

"It's still pretty awesome." Sokka said. "You guys should see him, he laid waste to an entire armada of Fire Navy ships."

"This kid's a regular Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide." Mikey said.

"Dr. Who and Mr. What?" Aang asked. "Should I be really honored, or really offended?"

"Wait, you never heard of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide?" Mikey questioned.

"Parallel world, remember Mikey." Don reminded.

"But it's one of the all-time classic monster movies!" Mikey still whined.

"Monster movie?" Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph asked at the same time.

"What's a movie?" Katara asked.

Mikey could not believe what he was hearing. "You're kidding. Please tell me you're kidding! This world doesn't have movies?! Please tell me you guys at least got TV! Or Video Games! Or Comic Books!"

Aang, Katara, and Sokka all looked at each other, not really understanding what Mikey was saying.

"No… should we?" Sokka asked.

Mikey's jaw was about to drop. "Next thing your gonna tell me is that you guys don't have hamburgers."

"What's a hamburger?" Toph asked.

"Uh oh." Leo, Don, and Raph grimaced, having a good idea where this is going.

"No hamburgers?!" Mikey exclaimed as he quickly stood up. "Please for the love of Silver Sentry tell me you at least have hot dogs, or nachos, or pizza! PLEASE TELL ME YOU HAVE PIZZA!" Mikey exclaimed as he shook Katara by the shoulders.

"No… never heard of any of that. I guess we don't have those." Katara said. Mikey just had a blank stare on his face as he slowly let her go. "Uh Mikey… you okay?"

"Oh boy." Don breathed.

"Here we go." Raph said as he face-palmed.

Leo began to count down. "Three…. Two… One."

"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The scream echoed throughout the sky. "WHAT KIND OF WORLD IS THIS! IT'S A MAD HOUSE! A MAD HOUSE!" Mikey screamed as he shook Raph.

 ***Slap***

"Thanks." Mikey calmed down a bit.

"Don't mention it." Raph replied.

"Is he okay?" Aang asked.

"He'll be fine, he's just being overly-dramatic as usual." Leo replied.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the world of the Turtles, the pyramid of the Nexus was still under the watch of the evil Foot. The Foot Ninjas continued to guard from the bottom of the underground structure while at the top, the Shredder and his subordinates Karai, Hun, and Stockman were currently monitoring it.

"Stockman." Shredder spoke. "How long must I wait?"

"I assure you, I am nearly finished deciphering the ruins." Stockman replied from one of the pillars that decorated the top of the pyramid. "I should have it set in a few hours or so."

"You had better, for your sake." Shredder replied, causing Stockman to gulp.

"Father." Karai said, getting his attention. "He is working as fast as he can, the Nexus will be open to us soon."

"Not soon enough." Shredder replied. "The Turtles have already been transported to the world this Nexus point is connected to. I must find them immediately."

"What's the big deal, Master?" Hun questioned. "There just four mutants, we have an army." Shredder immediately grabbed Hun by the throat and brought him close to his helmeted face.

"You of all people should know the significance of the Turtles, Hun!" Shredder exclaimed as he threw him down. "Those reptiles have interfered in my plans for too long! I cannot afford to underestimate them again. Once we cross into the next world, our first task will be to eliminate those infernal terrapins once and for all!"

As Shredder made his declaration, Karai looked a bit towards the side, unsure of her father's methods.

* * *

Back in the world of the Avatar, the heroes all set down at a vacant field with dozens of holes in the ground. Aang sat in the middle of the field in a meditative position with a flute in his hands; while the others all stood behind a bit from him.

"Um, why are we in the middle of nowhere?" Raph asked.

"There's a lot here actually." Toph pointed out. "There's hundreds of little…"

Aang quickly shushed her before she could finish. "I know you can see underground but don't ruin the surprise, just watch." Aang blew a note in the flute and a prairie dog popped out of one whole and squeaked the same note; Aang laughed and Mikey gave a bit of a smile himself while the others just looked at each other. Aang blew another note, resulting in another prairie dog emerging and squeaking. "I'm putting an orchestra together!"

"Orchestra huh?" Sokka questioned. "Well la-di-da."

Despite that, Aang blew more notes, causing a few more prairie dogs to pop up and squeak as well; resulting in Momo chasing all the prairie dogs that emerged. Katara and Mikey laughed a bit as well while Leo and Don gave amusing smiles, where as Raph just sighed.

"This kid is the messiah for the whole world? Raph questioned Aang's childish-behavior.

"He's twelve years old Raph." Leo replied. "Cut him some slack."

Mikey quickly zoomed over to Aang. "Mind if I take a crack at it?"

"Sure, go ahead." Aang replied with a smile as he handed Mikey the flute. Mikey then immediately began to bet-box with the flute; resulting in some more prairie dogs coming up and squeaking in a pattern to go with Mikey's bet-boxing. Aang, Katara, Leo, Don, even Toph seemed to take a liking to this, where as Raph just shook his head with an amusing smile. However, every party has a killjoy, which came in the form of Sokka who plugged the flute Mikey was playing.

"This is great and all but don't we have more important things to do? We should be making plans."

"We did make plans." Toph said. "We're all picking mini-vacations."

"There's no time for vacations." Sokka replied.

"I'm learning the elements as fast as I can." Aang stated. "I practice hard every day with Toph and Katara, I've been training my arrow off."

"Yeah what's wrong with having a little fun in our down time?" Katara asked.

"Well it seems we've found the kill-joy of the group." Raph pointed out.

"I'm not a kill-joy, that's Katara's job!" Sokka pointed out, resulting in him getting smacked upside the head by a water-whip. "Ow!"

"You we're kinda asking for that." Don told him.

"I kinda have to agree with Sokka a bit." Leo said. "We know next-to-nothing about the Fire Nation. We don't know where the Fire Lord lives, what the terrain is like, it's military defenses nothing. We're gonna need a lot more information to win this war."

"I see your point." Aang said as he got up. "But let's finish our mini-vacations first. They won't take to long."

"Sounds fair." Leo replied.

"Hold on, before we go anywhere, you guys are gonna need disguises." Sokka said to the Turtles.

Aang took out a map and showed it to Katara. "You're turn Katara, where would you like to go on your mini-vacation?"

Katara spotted something on the map that caught her interest. "How about this Misty Palms Oasis?"

"Oasis huh?" Mikey chimed in. "Sign me up!"

"Oh yeah, I've been there." Aang said. "It's a presteem, natural, ice-spring. And I usually don't use the word 'presteem'. It's one of nature's wonders."

* * *

 _Five Minutes Later_

The group was standing in front of the Oasis where the ice-berg looked like nothing more than a puddle and the oasis seemed nothing more than a slum.

"Must have changed ownership, since I was here." Aang guessed as he laughed nervously. The sign fell down and broke as soon as he said that.

"When was that? In the Late Jurassic?" Raph questioned.

The group walked through the slum-oasis; each of the Turtles we're wearing hooded robes to avoid being seen; Raph's was dark red, Leo's was dark blue, Don's was dark purple, and Mikey's was dark brown. They we're about to walk into a hut, which had many loitering Sandbenders around it. Most of the group walked in, but before Sokka could enter, one of the Sandbenders spat in his path, resulting in him glaring at the smirking Sandbender; Leo quickly pulled Sokka in to avoid making a scene.

Once inside, it seemed like a run-down restaurant. "Well this is… quaint." Leo observed.

They saw someone order a drink in which the chef took a couple of swords and cut up dozens of fruit, mixing it all with many juices before putting it in a cup and dropping a little umbrella.

"I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our strategy." Sokka said as he quickly ran to the bar.

"Mikey, you've just been replaced." Raph commented.

The person who ordered the previous drink ended up bumping into Aang, accidentally spilling the juice on his robe.

"No worries, I clean up easy." Aang assured as he used Airbending to blow off the juice from his robe.

The man gasped. "You're a living relic."

"Thanks, I try." Aang replied.

"That was a complement?" Mikey asked. "Normally calling someone a relic is an insult."

"That only applies to old people." Raph corrected.

"An Air-Nomad right in front of me." The man observed. "Professor Zei, head of Anthropology at Ba-Sing-Se University." He began to observe Aang's tattoos. "Tell me, which of the Air Temples, do you hail from?"

"The Southern Temple."

"Oh splendid!" the Professor said as he began to measure Aang's head. "Tell me, what was the primary agricultural product of your people?"

"Uh… are fruit pies an agricultural product?"

"No." Don said. "He means stuff like corn, grains, rice, home-grown stuff."

"Oh. Well I wouldn't know."

"That figures." Raph said as he rolled his eyes.

"So Professor, you're a well-traveled guy, obviously." Sokka observed. "Do you have a more current map? Ours seems to be a little dated."

"Yeah, _out_ dated." Mikey added.

"Certainly." The Professor replied.

He showed a map to the group at the table. Sokka began to observe it but wasn't quite satisfied with what he saw.

"What no Fire Nation? Doesn't anyone have a good map of that place?"

"Sokka, think about it." Leo told him. "If anyone had a map of the Fire Nation, don't you think they would have used it by now?"

Sokka then face-palmed, realizing Leo was right.

"You've made a lot of trips into the dessert." Katara observed.

"All in vain I'm afraid." The Professor said. "I've found lost civilizations all over the Earth Kingdom, but I haven't managed to find the crown jewel: Wong-Shi-Tong's Library."

"You spent years walking through the desert to find some guy's library?" Toph questioned.

"Buddy, you really need to get yourself a hobby." Raph said.

"This library is more valuable than gold my friends." The Professor replied. "It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge."

"I can understand why you'd look for something like that, knowledge is power." Don said as he was now interested. "Tell us more about this library."

"According to legend, it was built by the great knowledge spirit, Wong-Shi-Tong, with the help of his foxy knowledge seekers."

Sokka had a smile on his face. "Oh, so this spirit has attractive assistants huh?"

"Get me a library card to _that_ place." Mikey said with a wide smile.

"I think he means they look like actual foxes guys." Katara stated.

"You're all right, handsome little creatures." The Professor continued. "Wong-Shi-Tong and his Knowledge Seekers collected books from all over the world and put them on display for all of humanity to see, so that we may better ourselves."

Leo began to think. "If this place has books collected from the entire planet, maybe they have something from the Fire Nation, maybe a map or something of their history?"

"I wouldn't know." The Professor replied. "But if such a thing exists, it's in Wong-Shi-Tong's library."

"Well, looks we have a destination in mind." Don observed.

"Yep." Sokka confirmed. "Aang, I do believe it's my turn. I want to spend my vacation _at the Library!"_ Sokka announced dramatically.

"Did you have to be so dramatic?" Raph questioned.

"Uh hey, what about me?" Toph asked. "When do I get to pick?"

"You gotta work here a little longer to qualify for vacation time." Sokka told her, resulting in Toph pouting with her arms crossed.

"Of course there's the matter of finding it." The Professor said. "I've made several trips into the Sing-Wong Desert, and almost died each time. I'm afraid that desert's impossible to cross."

"Impossible is our middle name." Mikey stated. "Just ask our Sky-Bison right outside."

"A Sky-Bison?" The Professor asked with a wide smile. "You actually have one?!"

* * *

Back outside, Appa growled at a group of Sandbenders that we're observing him rather closely.

"Sandbenders shoo!" The Professor exclaimed as he and everyone else all ran up to it. "Away from the Bison!"

"You heard him, get lost ya vultures!" Raph stated as the Sandbenders begrudgingly walked away and got back in their boats, which they then propelled away into the desert; everyone gave suspicious looks at the Sandbenders as they rode away.

"I don't like the look of those guys." Don observed.

"That makes two of us." Leo replied. "We better keep an eye out while we're out here."

* * *

The large group all loaded up on Appa and began to take flight over the treacherous desert. Raph, Katara, Toph, Mikey, Don, and Sokka all laid back in the saddle while Aang, Leo, and the professor all sat on top of Appa's head. The professor soon began to directly talk to Appa.

"Tell me Sky Bison, are you the last of your bread?" The professor asked while Appa gave a groan in response. "Oh delightful! I only wish I spoke his tongue. Oh the stories this beast could tell." The professor stroke Appa's fur while Momo ran up and chirped at him. "Sshh chatty-monkey!"

Leo and Aang took a look at the picture of the library. "It shouldn't be too hard to find a place like this out here." Aang said.

"A library that big is sure to stick out like a sore thumb." Leo observed.

From there the entire group spent what seemed like hours of searching the endless desert, with no sign of the library.

"Ugh." Toph groaned. "Does this place even exist?"

"Some say it doesn't." The professor said nonchalantly.

"And you didn't mention this before?!" The angry Raph questioned. "Toph, if we die out here, remind me to kick that guy's ass in the afterlife."

"Will do."

Even more time passed; and to say the company was board would be an understatement. Mikey at this point was attempting to play eye-spy to alleviate the boredom.

"I spy something…. Brown." Mikey said.

"Is it sand?" Don groaned. "Like the last twenty times?"

"There it is!" Toph announced, pointing in a certain direction, causing Leo, Aang, Don, Katara, Sokka, and Mikey to look in the direction she was pointing, they all spotted nothing and glared at Toph. "That's what it'll sound like when one of you spots it."

"She's blind, idiots." Raph cracked while he and Toph fist-bumped and they both snickered.

They still searched and found no luck at all.

"It shouldn't be this hard to spot a giant ornate building from the air." Katara said.

"Maybe this place really doesn't exist." Don guessed.

"And this may be just a waste of our time." Leo said.

Sokka looked through the telescope and spotted something that caught his attention. "Down there!" He said, getting everyone's attention. "What's that?"

The group soared down on Appa before jumping off at the base of what appeared to be a small tower sticking out of the sand.

"Is this it?" Mikey asked.

"No, it's not what we're looking for. The building in this drawing is enormous." Katara replied.

They noticed a faint sparkle in the distance and looked in that direction. It came from a fox carrying a scroll in its mouth.

"A fox?" Don questioned. "What's a fox all the way doing out here?"

The fox then ran across the sand and straight up the tower, much to their surprise.

"That's no ordinary fox." Leo observed as it dove into the window at the top of the tower.

"I think that was one of the knowledge seekers." The professor guessed. "We must be close to the library!"

Leo, Aang, Mikey, Katara, Raph, Sokka, and Don all looked at the picture and they realized it.

"No, this is the library!" Sokka revealed as the tower looked identical to the top of the building in the drawing. "It's completely buried."

"Oh, well isn't that just perfect?" Raph said sarcastically. "Talk about a waste of time."

"THE LIBRARY IS BURRIED!?" The professor yelled. "My life's ambition is now full of sand!" He fell to his knees before taking out a small shovel. "Well, time to start excavating." He then began to dig.

"This guy is a few books short of a full library." Mikey whispered to Don who nodded in agreement.

Toph put her hand to the base of the tower and immediately felt the inside of it. "Actually that won't be necessary. The inside seems to be completely intact, and it's huge!"

"How's that possible with all this sand over it?" Don questioned.

"Magic library, remember?" Raph reminded.

"The knowledge seeker went in through the window. I say we go up and see what it's like inside." Leo announced.

"Pass." Mikey said.

"Yeah, I'm staying out here to." Toph said.

"You guys got something against books?" Katara asked.

"I'm not into libraries. Capital B, for boring." Mikey answered.

"And I've held books before, and I gotta tell ya, they don't exactly do it for me." Toph revealed.

Katara then remembered, once again, that Toph was blind. "Oh right, sorry."

"But hey, if there's a comic book section in there, let me know." Mikey said while Raph, Don, and Leo rolled their eyes.

Sokka then tied a long rope to his boomerang and threw it up to the window like a makeshift grappling hook and started climbing. Aang patted Appa's head while near Toph and Mikey.

"Don't worry buddy." Aang consoled his beloved bison. "I'm not making you go underground ever again. You can stay out here with Toph and Mikey."

Toph and Mikey just stood next to the large bison.

"Yo." Mikey greeted to the bison.

"What's up?" Toph added.

* * *

The remainder of the group then began to climb down the rope and into the library. Leo was first, followed by the professor, then Don, next was Sokka, then Raph, then Aang and Katara was last, with Momo flying next to them. Once inside, to say the library was fancy would be an understatement.

"Whoa." Don breathed.

"Man, Toph wasn't kidding." Raph observed. "This place is huge."

"I'm sure Master Splinter would love this place." Leo said.

"Oh, it's breath-taking." The professor observed. "The spirit spared no expense in designing this place."

"You can say that again." Don agreed.

"I mean, just look at these beautiful buttresses." The professor pointed out, causing Aang and Sokka to snicker while Katara, Leo, Raph, and Don just rolled their eyes at their immaturity.

"What's funny?" The professor asked.

"Don't worry, they're just being idiots." Raph told the professor, earning slight glares from Aang and Sokka

The group quickly set down on the floor and began to observe more of the massive library.

"My word!" The professor exclaimed as he looked at an illustration of a large owl. "The exquisite, mosaic handiwork of the tile-rendered, avian-symbol…" The kids looked to the professor, as they didn't have a clue what he was saying.

"He means, nice owl." Don translated.

They heard the sound of wings flapping from deep in the library. "Someone's coming, hide!" Leo stated as the group quickly ran and hid themselves.

Aang, Momo, and the professor hid behind one pillar while Leo hid underneath the small rise from the floor next to them. Katara and Sokka hid behind another pillar while Raph and Don ducked under the small rise next to that pillar. They slightly looked out to see a large owl emerge from the shadows. It walked across the bridge to the center where it saw the rope that hung down from the window. Raph placed a hand on the handle of one of his Sais, preparing for the worst.

The owl turned its head 270 degrees, looking in the direction of the group. "I know you're back there." It spoke.

"Yeah, that's not creepy or anything." Don whispered.

The professor walked out into the open and introduced himself to the owl. "Hello. I'm professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba-Sing-Se University."

"You should leave the way you came." The owl advised. "Unless you want to become a _stuffed_ head of anthropology." The owl gestured to three stuffed animal heads that decorated a pillar, resulting in the professor gulping and holding his throat.

The rest of the group walked out. "Are you the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" Sokka asked.

"Indeed. I am Wong-Shi-Tong, he who knows ten thousand things. And most of you are obviously humans, which by the way, are no longer permitted in my study."

"What do you have against humans?" Aang asked.

Wong-Shi-Tong scoffed. "Humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans. Like that Firebender who came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemies. So, who are _you_ trying to destroy?" He looked at Sokka.

"What?" Sokka asked, trying to act innocent. "No, no, no, no destroying. We're not into that."

"Then why have you come here?"

"Uh…. Knowledge for knowledge's sake?" Leo, Raph, and Don all face-palmed at that.

"If you are going to lie to an all-knowing-spirit being, you should at least put some effort into it."

Before Sokka could say anything else, Leo pulled him out of the way and stepped up.

"Sorry about that, he's nervous when it comes to the super-natural." Leo began. "I can understand your weariness of humans, I've seen it many times with my own eyes." Leo removed his hood, revealing his turtle face; Don and Mikey followed suit as well; Zei looked in surprise while Aang, Katara, and Sokka had questionable looks as to what they could gain from it.

Wong-Shi-Tong didn't look to surprised. "I suspected that you weren't human, yet you are not spirits either. What are you exactly?"

"We're beings from a different dimension." Leo started. "The only reason we're here is to get information on the Fire Nation and we know nothing about it; we we're hopping you would have something. The most we're looking for is a map, that's all."

Sokka was about to say something, but Raph quickly nudged him, giving him a look that silently said _'shut up'_. Leo wasn't lying, but he did leave out a few details for obvious reasons.

"You said you couldn't trust humans." Leo continued. "Well these three right here are only kids, it's not like their soldiers or anything, besides one of them is the Avatar, and if I recall, happens to be the great bridge between your world and this one."

Don and Raph nudged Aang a bit and he slightly stumbled next to Leo. He gave a nervous laugh. "We will not abuse the knowledge in your library, good spirit. You have my word."

Wong-Shi-Tong stood up right. "Hmm. Very well, I'll let you peruse my vast collection, on one condition. To prove your worth as scholars, you have to contribute some worth-while knowledge."

The professor presented a large text. "Please accept this tome, as a donation to your library."

"First edition, very nice." Wong-Shi-Tong waved his wing over the book before it disappeared.

Leo walked up with a scroll and opened it; it's showed a group of ninjas practicing a ninjitsu technique. "This is an ancient marital art of our world, may you find it knowledgeable, Great Spirit"

"A martial art from another world, fascinating." Wong-Shi-Tong took this scroll as well.

Katara was next. "I have an authentic Waterbending scroll."

"Ooooh. These illustrations are quite stylish." Wong-Shi-Tong accepted Katara's offer.

Don walked up right after and presented blueprints of the Battle-Shell. "These are schematics from a vehicle I constructed myself, I guarantee you won't find anything like this."

"How inventive, I accept." Wong-Shi-Tong took the blueprints.

"Uh…" Aang tried to think of something. "Oh, I know!" He pulled out a wanted poster of himself.

"I suppose that counts." Wong-Shi-Tong took the poster.

Raph walked up next before pulling out a magazine. "Maybe you can start a new collection of other world stuff."

"Hmm, well, it's certainly colorful." Wong-Shi-Tong took the magazine.

Sokka was last. "Oh great spirit, check this out." He whipped out a tiny string before tying it in a five-pronged-knot. "Ta-da!" Wong-Shi-Tong gave a blank stare. "It's a special knot! That counts as knowledge."

"You're not very bright, are you?" Wong-Shi-Tong guessed.

"No, he's not." Raph added, resulting in Sokka scowling. Regardless, Wong-Shi-Tong took the knot.

"Enjoy the library." The owl then flew down into his library while most of the group began their search.

"Bright enough to fool you." Sokka scowled before getting smacked on the back of the head by a certain red-clad Turtle.

"Don't say that out loud, moron!" Raph stated before grabbing Sokka by the arm. "Come on!" He then dragged him into the library after the others.

* * *

Meanwhile, back outside; Mikey and Toph sat on the sand next to Appa; it was a pretty awkward silence between the small group.

"So… you guys like flying?" Toph asked.

Appa gave a small groan while scratching his ears.

"Yep. I like the feeling on being on top of the world, living for a few years in the sewers; you're going to wanna get to the top of something. I roof-top run all the time with my bros back home." Mikey answered

"Of course I'm more comfortable on the ground where I can see." Toph said.

"Have I mentioned how cool your Seismic Sense is?" Mikey asked.

"'Seismic Sense'?" Toph asked.

"Well it's basically you're super power." Mikey explained. "And every cool power, needs a cool name."

Toph gave a slight grin. "I like it. But all this sand is so loose and shifty, it makes everything look all… fuzzy."

Appa gave a slight groan.

"Not that there's anything wrong with fuzzy, big guy." Mikey quickly said.

* * *

Back in the library; the group was looking through the many books and scrolls on display; Don obviously took a huge liking to this place as he surfed through a scroll, as did Aang and Katara.

Aang looked at a picture that caught his interest. "Hey Raph, look at these weird Lion-Turtle-things." He showed the picture of Raph. "You guys could be distant-cousins."

Raph looked at the picture. "Somehow, I doubt that. And I've seen plenty weirder"

Katara walked up to the young Avatar. "Aang, did you know in a past life, you we're left-handed?"

"I always knew I was special."

"Well you are the Avatar, doesn't that already count as special?" Don asked.

"Guys, let's try and remember why we're here." Leo said. "Lets find a map and get out."

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Aang asked. "Wong-Shi-Tong let us look at all his stuff."

"I don't trust him, he was very hostile towards us, and I've got a feeling that me also be a bit paranoid." Leo added.

"I don't like the guy either." Raph added. "He seems all kinds of arrogant."

Sokka meanwhile took a few scrolls from the shelves and put them in his bag. He soon spotted a burnt piece of paper in a glass case, Don noticed this as well and walked up with him.

"What does it say?" Don asked.

"'The Darkest Day in Fire Nation History'." Sokka read. "It's got a date at the top, but it doesn't say anything else."

"Generally when something is referred to as 'the darkest day' it usually means something bad." Don said.

"Bad for _them_ maybe, but good for _us._ " Sokka lifted the glass with his hatchet and took out the parchment and began running in a certain direction when the others arrived.

"Sokka, where are you going?" Aang asked.

"I want to know what happened to the Fire Nation on their darkest day, this could be promising." Sokka said before running off.

Raph gave an amused smile. "I think the idiot may actually be onto something."

"Let's go, come on." Leo said as he, Aang, Katara, Raph, Don, and the Professor, along with Momo, all ran after him.

The group ran through the library before coming to a section that had the Japanese symbol for 'Fire' over the door with dragon statues. "The information on the Fire Nation should be right up here."

They walked into the chamber and found themselves completely shocked as all that filled the room we're piles of black dust and soot. It wasn't hard to deduce what happened.

"Firebenders." Aang realized.

"They destroyed everything having to do with the Fire Nation." Katara said.

"How much do you wanna bet this is the reason Wong-Shi-Tong sunk his library?" Leo guessed.

"I wouldn't blame him, someone tried to destroy something of mine, and I'd probably hide the rest." Don said.

"This is so unfair!" Sokka exclaimed. "Just when I think I'm one step ahead of the Fire Nation, it turns out they beat us here a long time ago."

"This war _is_ a hundred years old." Raph reminded. "I guess we can always capture a high ranking Fire Nation officer and beat the information out of him." He punched his left palm with his right fist.

Aang gave a questionable look. "Do you always go for the violent way?"

"You'd be surprised how much it works." Raph told him with his arms crossed.

"I need to know what happened on the Darkest Day." Sokka still said.

The group heard a small whine and looked behind to see a fox looking at them.

"One of the knowledge seekers?" Don guessed.

"Maybe you can help us." Leo spoke to the fox. "Do you know where we can find any information?" The fox nodded and ran off in a certain direction. "Come on guys, it wants to follow."

The group ran after the fox as it lead them through the library. It soon led them to a large, circular door. The fox ran into a hole in the wall. Two minutes later, the door opened and the group walked into a large chamber with a dome roof and a pedestal in the center of the floor. The fox pushed on a lever by the pedestal, causing the room to change; the ceiling shifted into one filled with rotating stars.

"It's a planetarium." Don realized.

"This is truly a mechanical wonder." The professor marveled.

"A planetarium?" Katara asked.

"A chamber that shows what the sky looked like at a certain date and time in the past." Leo explained as the planetarium shifted to a daytime setting.

"This is beautiful, but how is it helpful?" Sokka asked.

Raph looked at the pedestal. "A little help here, I don't read Chinese."

The rest of the group joined him. "Maybe these symbols represent dates and times." Katara speculated. "Sokka, try the date from the parchment you took."

Sokka immediately shushed his sister. "Sshh, Katara. Not in front of the fox, he's with the owl!" Sokka whispered, resulting in the fox whining.

"It's a fox, Pony-Tail." Raph reminded.

"Guys, focus." Leo reminded. "Sokka, put in the date."

Sokka turned the dials to the date on the parchment and pushed down on the lever, causing the room to shift and turn around the entire group.

"Wow." Aang marveled. "I gotta hand it to you Sokka. You picked the best mini-vacation, for sure."

"You clearly haven't gotten out much then, kid." Raph told Aang. The room finally stopped shifting and it appeared that the sun was no longer visible.

"Hey wait, what happened to the sun?" Katara asked.

"Great, you must have broken it." Aang said.

Don looked closer and the purple-clad turtle realized it. "No, it's not broken. Look. The sun is behind the moon; it's a solar eclipse."

"I get it know!" Sokka stated as he began to shake Aang. "It's literally the Darkest Day in Fire Nation history! Something awful happened on that day, I don't know what , but I do know why, Firebenders loose their bending during a Solar Eclipse!"

"Wait, how does an eclipse cause someone to loose their bending?" Leo asked.

"Well the same kind of thing happened before." Katara explained. "There was a lunar eclipse at the North Pole and Waterbenders lost their bending there."

"I think I get it." Don theorized. "The sun is the largest source of fire in the solar system, so maybe it acts as a power source for Firebenders."

"So with the sun blocked out…" Leo began.

"The Firebenders are ripe for a good old butt-kicking!" Raph finished with a grin on his face.

The fox that showed them the chamber gave a whining sound. "Fine, you earned it." Sokka said to the fox before tossing him a piece of food.

The group gathered together. "We gotta get this information to the Earth King at Ba-Sing-Se." Sokka began. "We'll wait for the next eclipse and then we'll invade the Fire Nation when they're totally helpless! The Fire Lord is going down!"

"Uh… Sokka…" Don pointed behind them as a shadow loomed over them.

"Mortals are so predictable, and such terrible liars." Wong-Shi-Tong said.

"Aw shell!" Raph cussed, realizing they we're busted.

"You betrayed my trust!" Wong-Shi-Tong exclaimed. "From the beginning, you intended to misuse this knowledge for evil purposes!"

" _We're_ the evil ones?!" Raph angrily questioned. "You saw what those hot-heads did to your library! You should be _thanking_ us for wanting to beat some sense into them!"

"The Fire Nation is out of control, we need this information!" Don added.

"You think you're the first person to believe their war was justified?!" Wong-Shi-Tong questioned. "Countless others have come here before you! Seeking weapons, or weaknesses, or battle strategies!"

"We had no choice." Aang tried to reason with the owl-spirit. "Please, we're just desperate to protect the people we love!"

Leo stood in front of the Avatar. "Don't bother trying to reason with him Aang, he won't listen to anything we have to say, isn't that right?" He questioned to the owl.

"That is correct." Wong-Shi-Tong confirmed. "And now, I am going to protect what _I_ love." He outstretched his wings and began to flap them, creating a vortex, causing the whole building to shift and rumble.

"What the shell are you doing?!" Don questioned.

"I'm taking my knowledge back! No one will ever abuse it again!" The owl declared.

"He's sinking the building!" Katara realized as sand began to pour into the chamber. "We've got to get out of here!"

"I'm afraid I can't allow that. You already know to much." Wong-Shi-Tong said as he stretched his neck and thrusted his beak forward, which the group avoided by separating. Raph took out a few smoke pellets and threw it into the owl's face, temporarily blinding him.

"Time to go!" Leo announced as the group began to run as fast as they could. Wong-Shi-Tong shook the smoke from his face and cleared his eyes before pursuing them.

* * *

Back outside; Appa was sleeping while Toph and Mikey we're sleeping on his side. The tower began to shift, waking Appa up and causing him to roar.

"Hmmm…. Ten more minutes… Master Splinter…" Mikey groaned, as he was still asleep.

"I already told you… I don't wanna snuggle…" Toph groaned as well. Appa quickly stood up, causing both the orange-clad Turtle, and the Blind Bandit to fall and wake up. They saw the building beginning to descend in the ground.

"The library's sinking!" Mikey realized.

"The library's sinking?" Toph questioned before she felt it as well. "The library's sinking!"

Toph quickly ran to the tower and pressed her fists against it, to try and use her Earthbending to keep it up, she sunk a bit in the sand before loosing her grip. Toph dug her hand in the sand and twisted, causing it to solidify, giving her solid ground to stand on. She pressed her fists against it again and was able to slow it down quite a lot.

"Can you hold it up?" Mikey asked.

"I… hope so…" Toph grunted as she tried to keep it up.

* * *

Back inside; Leo, Aang, Don, Katara, Raph, Sokka, Momo, and the professor all ran through the library. Raph looked back.

"Guys! Psycho owl spirit right behind us!" Raph exclaimed as he saw Wong-Shi-Tong flying towards them at high speeds.

The group picked up the pace, running faster. Wong-Shi-Tong's extended wings began to tear through the bookshelves, destroying many of the books in the process. The professor saw this with horror.

"Ah!" He screamed. "Great Knowledge Spirit! I beg you! Do not destroy your vast collection of priceless tomes!" He begged as the owl flew closer to him.

Aang turned around and used Airbending to pull the professor back before Wong-Shi-Tong could get to him. Leo used this and ran at fast speeds before giving a fierce kick to the side of the owls' head, knocking him off the bridge. Aang followed through with a powerful air-gust, blasting the owl to the wall, causing him to fall down into the abyss below.

"That won't stop him!" Leo said as he, Aang, and the professor caught up with the rest of the group.

"We've got to get back to the surface!" Aang exclaimed as the group began to run, but Sokka stopped and looked back the way they came.

"Hey, you frozen back there!?" Raph questioned as the group stopped.

"Sokka lets go!" Katara exclaimed.

"But we still don't know when the next eclipse is gonna happen!" Sokka said.

"Don't be stupid, we'll find out later!" Katara told him.

"No, Sokka's right!" Leo said. "We have no way of knowing when the next one is, and if we leave now, we never will."

"I case you haven't noticed bro, the library is sinking!" Raph reminded. "And I don't wanna be trapped here for all eternity!"

"We don't have a choice Raph." Leo said. "Alright everyone listen up; Don, you and Aang go with Sokka back to the planetarium to find out the next eclipse is. Katara, take the professor and Momo and get out of here. Raph, you're with me, we'll hold off Wong-Shi-Tong till we're all set."

"Got it." Aang, Don, Raph, and even Katara all said.

"Whoa, hold on!" Sokka spoke out loud. "Who put you in charge, I'm the leader here!"

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO ARGUE SOKKA! DO WHAT I SAY!" Leo yelled.

"Yes, sir!" The spooked Sokka nodded his head as he spoke in a squeaky tone.

With that, the group split up. Katara ran with Momo and the professor towards the exit; while Don, Aang, and Sokka ran back to the planetarium just as Wong-Shi-Tong flew back up and was about to fly after the group heading back to the planetarium; but Leo and Raph quickly appeared in front of him, leaping high and both kicked him in the face as he fell back.

Leo drew his katanas while Raph drew his sais, standing in the owl-spirit's path, both giving him defiant looks.

"You're gonna have to go through us first, bird-boy." Raph challenged.

"As you wish." Wong-Shi-Tong accepted as he charged forward, while Leo and Raph both gave battle cries, charging towards him as well.

* * *

Back outside, Toph struggled with all her might to keep the library from sinking completely; Appa and Mikey both noticed something from behind.

"Uh Toph… we got company." Mikey said.

"What is it _now?!_ " Toph questioned.

These we're the boats of the group of raiders that the group recently encountered back at the oasis.

"Sandbenders!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Yeah, as if things weren't bad enough!"

Three Sandbender boats began to circle Appa before the Sandbenders got off.

"Toph, you keep the library up, I'll handle these guys!" Mikey announced as he leaped and kicked a Sandbender in the head, sending him flying.

Mikey pulled out his nunchucks and readied for battle as the Sandbenders readied themselves as well.

* * *

Back in the library; Aang, Don, and Sokka made it back to the Planetarium.

"Why are we doing this?" Aang asked as they got to the podium at the center of the planetarium.

"Because if this calendar can tell us about eclipses in the past, then maybe it can project when the next one will be." Sokka deduced.

"We can't possibly check every date!" Aang exclaimed.

"We don't have to." Don told him. "We just need to check every date before Sozin's Comet arrives, because after that, it won't matter when the next eclipse will show up. Game over."

The three then searched all the upcoming dates continuously, over and over. Don and Sokka would try the dates, while Aang pulled the lever so they can see the sun and moon's positions at that date. So far they had found nothing; a few close calls, but no such luck. It looked like it was hopeless for the heroes.

"Come on eclipse!" Aang hopped as he pulled the lever.

The room shifted again, this time, the moon landed in front of the sun. They had found it.

"We found it! The Solar Eclipse!" Don announced.

"And it's just a few months away." Sokka observed as he wrote down the date. "Got it."

"Then lets make like piñatas and beat it!" Don exclaimed as the group ran out of the library.

* * *

Back outside; Mikey continued to try and fight off the Sandbenders. He flailed his nunchucks in the face of one before quickly jumping and kicking another in the abs. Two of them sent plums of sand his way and hit him, causing him to fly back. He quickly got up as the Sandbenders threw many lassos around Appa, tying him down.

"Hands off the Bison, Tuskin-Raider-wannabes!" Mikey shouted as he punched a Sandbender and knocked another away with his nunchucks. "Toph, how's it going over there?!" Mikey questioned as he slammed his weapon into the gut of another Sandbender.

"I can't… hold it… forever!" Toph exclaimed.

Four Sandbenders surrounded Mikey and motioned their hands. He was sunk into the sand before they thrusted forward and sent Mikey flying far away. The remaining Sandbenders finished restraining Appa, who struggled in the ropes.

"Don't make me put this down!" Toph said as she briefly let go of the library, sending plumes of sand towards the Sandbenders, but they missed and she was forced hold the library again, to keep it from sinking any further.

Mikey got back up to see the Sandbenders hook the restrained Appa to their sandboats. "No, no, no, no!" Mikey shouted as he ran back towards the action. The boats began to fly away, Mikey tried to run to them, he threw a shuriken, which missed one of the ropes but cut the face of one of the Sandbenders, cutting his mask to reveal a dark-haired young man. He held his right cheek as blood ran down from the cut.

Mikey wasn't able to catch up to them on time as the Sandbenders got away. He stood there with a look of despair on his face.

"Mikey…?" Toph tried but he didn't give an answer, indicating that it was too late. "I'm sorry Appa."

* * *

Back in the library; Wong-Shi-Tong was sent flying through many bookshelves. He quickly got up to see the armed Leo and Raph both glaring at him and charging forward again. He lunged his beak forward and into the ground, forcing the two Ninja Turtles to split in two directions; Raph jumped up to a pillar and launched downward from it and kneed Wong-Shi-Tong in the face, sending him tumbling to Leo who charged and twirled straight for him, slashing the owl many times in the chest, causing it to stumble to the ground.

Leo and Raph stood back together to see Wong-Shi-Tong get up once again. He glared once more before they ran forward again; this time he opened his wings and sent a powerful gust of wind towards them, sending both the turtles flying.

Katara and Momo made it to the bridge they first got to and saw the rope leading back up to the surface. She looked to see Leo and Raph both slide on the right side, stopping just in front of the rope.

"Are you guys okay?" She asked as they both got up.

"Well besides fighting for our lives against a crazy spirit in a sinking library, we're just fine." Raph replied sarcastically.

Wong-Shi-Tong began to approach them like a fierce predator; Leo and Raph took combat stances with their weapons while Katara took her own Waterbending stance in between the turtles, standing with them.

"You're Waterbending won't do you much good here." Wong-Shi-Tong said. "I've Northern Water Style; Southern Water Style; even Foggy-Swamp Style."

Before he could react, Don come in from above and swung his bo-staff hard against the back of Wong-Shi-Tong's head and sent him tumbling towards the three. Leo and Raph then jumped towards the tumbling owl and slammed both their feets against his head, sending him flying and falling down off the bride.

"That's called Ninja-Turtle-Style! Learn it!" Don called down the pit.

Aang and Sokka caught up with the group.

"We've got the eclipse date!" Sokka shouted.

"Then its time to go!" Leo declared as they all began to climb the rope; as they did they saw the professor sitting in between bookshelves with a sea of books and scrolls surrounding,

"Professor, we gotta go!" Don called.

"I'm not leaving, I can't!" The professor called back.

"Are you crazy?!" Raph questioned.

"I spent too long searching for this place, there's not another collection like this on Earth. I could spend an eternity in here." The professor said, as though he we're at peace.

"Just go!" Katara told the group, but soon felt a tug on the rope. Wong-Shi-Tong was pulling them down.

Aang however responded by creating a massive Air-Sphere that surrounded him, Leo, Katara, Don, Raph, Momo, and Sokka and they soared straight up with Wong-Shi-Tong close behind them. They all flew through the hole of the tower and outside.

* * *

The Air-Sphere ceased and they all fell and tumbled on the ground. Mikey saw they we're back.

"TOPH! THEY'RE HERE! LET IT GO NOW!

Once Mikey gave her the signal, Toph let go of the library, allowing it to sink completely into the ground, leaving only a large crater. They all managed to catch their breaths quite a bit.

"That was way too close." Don breathed.

"But we got it!" Sokka said as he and Katara hugged. "There's a solar eclipse coming. The Fire Nation's in trouble now!"

"Alright, finally some action!" Raph announced as he and Don high-fived.

Leo and Aang both looked around and noticed something.

"Where's Appa?" Aang asked; Toph looked down in shame, while Mikey shook his head. Aang gave a loud gasp as tears formed in his eyes and fell down his cheeks.

"What happened?" Leo asked Mikey.

"Sandbenders." Mikey replied.

"Great, just great." Raph said. "Things can't get any worse."

* * *

Somewhere else in the Earth Kingdom, on a grassy plain, near a forest; a metal machine quickly zoomed through the plain. This was the personal transportation of the Princess of the Fire Nation.

Within the moving transport; Mai and Ty-Lee sat in silence, as did Azula, who had a scowl on her face that would give little children nightmares.

"She seems mad" Ty-Lee whispered to Mai.

"I noticed." Mai replied. "It's not every day that four, man-sized Turtles beat you."

They both looked to Azula who got up from her seat. "We're not just hunting the Avatar and my brother anymore." She announced. "We have four more targets. I won't rest until I see those turtles burnt alive!"

As she made that declaration; Ty-Lee noticed something in the right window. "Hey, what's that?"

All three girls looked out the window to see a bright flash of light coming from the nearby forest. The light shined for a few moments before stopping.

"What was that?" Mai asked.

"Whatever it is, I'm going to find out." Azula said. "Turn this thing around."

* * *

From a small clearing outside the forest, two figures walked out of the forest and towards a small cliff. One of them was a large bulky man with a Purple Dragon tattoo on his right arm, and a Foot symbol on his left arm. Right behind him was a young woman dressed in black and grey with a Foot symbol in between her armor on her chest.

Karai and Hun turned back to the forest where a third figure emerged; they both kneeled before the figure dressed in silver and intimidating armor. He walked past his two subordinates and to the edge of the small cliff, overlooking this new world.

Shredder than gave an evil and victorious laugh as lightning flashed behind him.

 **Done.**

 **This isn't good. Not only have the heroes lost Appa, but the Turtles' most dangerous enemy is now on the world of the Avatar. What will happen next? Find out next time on World's Collide.**


	4. The Desert

**Hey everyone. Terribly sorry for the wait, I've had a lot of school stuff to take care of. Also, I have final exams coming up for me, so it may be a bit of wait between now and the next update, I apologize for the inconvenience. Anyway, let's begin.**

 **The Desert**

Leo, Katara, Raph, Aang, Toph, Don, Sokka, Mikey, and Momo all stood in the middle of the desert, at the former sight of Wong Shi Tong's library, which had now completely sunk into the ground, but that was the least of the group's concern right now.

"How could you two let them take Appa?! Why didn't you stop them?!" Aang angrily asked Mikey and Toph.

"We _did_ try to stop them! You try fighting those freaks, there's freaking sand everywhere!" Mikey stated

"The Library was sinking! You guys we're still inside!" Toph exclaimed.

"You guys could have come to get us! I could have saved him!" Aang argued.

"I tried to fight off those guys while Toph here tried to hold up the library!" Mikey stated.

"Plus I can barley feel any vibrations out here! There wasn't enough…" Toph tried.

"You just didn't care! Neither of you liked Appa! You wanted him gone!" Aang angrily yelled.

"Hey, back off will you?!" Raph exclaimed as he walked up to Aang. "These two did all they could! They freaking tried to save our lives!"

"Shut up Raph!" Aang yelled to the red-clad Turtle. "You didn't even try to help Appa!"

"Oh, gee." Raph began. "Maybe because I was trying Not To Get Eaten BY A PSYCHO OWL!"

"Everyone calm down!" Leo exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. "Blaming anyone isn't going to help!"

"Leo's right." Don agreed. "This isn't the time to argue with each other, not in the middle of this desert."

"We're never gonna make it out of here though." Sokka said.

Aang stubbornly began walking away. "That's all any of you guys care about, yourselves. You don't care whether Appa's okay or not!"

"We're all concerned!" Katara told him. "But we can't afford to be fighting now."

Aang didn't even bother to listen. "I'm going after Appa!" He took off in his glider.

"Aang wait!" Katara called, but he was long gone.

"Did he just ditch us?" Raph irritatingly questioned.

"I think he did." Mikey said.

"We better start walking." Katara said.

"She's right." Leo agreed. "We're the only ones in the planet who know about the eclipse, we need to get to Ba-Sing-Se. Don, do you remember which way we flew from?"

"Yeah I do, this way." Don pointed in one direction and the group began walking.

"You think if we did out the giant owl, he'd give us a ride?" Sokka questioned.

"What do you think?" Raph asked sarcastically.

"No, no. Being roasted alive is better for me." Sokka replied in an equally sarcastic tone.

"I'm guessing Katara's the smart one in the family." Don said.

* * *

Shredder, Karai, Hun, and at least twenty Foot Ninja all looked forward at the new world they have just entered.

"We are now standing in a brand new world. This is truly incredible." Karai marveled.

"Yeah, and this world will soon belong to us." Hun eagerly said as he clenched his massive right fist.

"We must find the Turtles first." Shredder instructed. "They had already arrived in this world, and we all know the danger they represent."

"Of course, master." Hun said as he and Karai bowed their heads.

From the trees of the nearby forest, three particular young ladies had now just spotted the villainous ninja clan.

"Well, these guys certainly look interesting." Mai noted, actually taking a small liking to the Ninja's black robes.

"I'm certain they aren't Earth Kingdom, and I know they are not Fire Nation." Azula observed.

"So who are they?" Ty-Lee asked.

"I'm about to find out." Azula replied as she was about to walk forward, but Ty-Lee grabbed her arm.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." She warned. "Some of their auras are pretty dark, and that guy in the armor looks super scary."

Azula flashed a look of amusement. "Well, let's just see how scary."

"You there!" A voice called out; the Foot Ninjas, Hun, and Karai looked in the direction of the voice, and Shredder only turned his head slightly. The voice came from one of three girls approaching them. "I haven't seen the likes of you around these parts, who are you?"

They all looked towards Shredder, who turned his back towards them. "I do not answer to children."

Azula scowled a bit, she could tell that this one was the one in charge, and she did not like that attitude of his. "Do you realize to whom you speak?"

"Didn't you hear him, kid?" Hun stated as he stepped forward. "We don't answer to little girls, so get lost."

Ty-Lee cringed at that, having a feeling where this could lead.

"You dare?" Azula questioned. "I am the princess of the Fire Nation!"

Karai looked interested at this. _'A princess?'_

"Your status in royalty means nothing to me." Shredder stated as he motioned for his followers to begin walking away. "I do not answer to little children, regardless of whom they claim to be. Go home to your mother, little girl." Shredder and all his followers began to walk away from the group.

Even Mai cringed at that particular comment. She admitted that this may be the bravest man in the world, or he was just plain stupid.

Azula's mouth hung open. No one speaks to her like that, no one. A look of searing anger formed on her face. She shot forward a stream of blue fire, which barley grazed Shedder's side, causing him to stop.

Karai, Hun, as well as the Foot Ninja we're surprised at this use of power, was this the power of those who inhabit this world?

"That was a warning." Azula said to Shredder, who didn't even turn around to her. "If you don't want me to turn you into ash, then you will turn around and kneel before your better!"

 _'_ _They really don't know who their dealing with, do they?'_ Hun thought to himself with a smug grin, where as Karai grimaced, knowing what was going to happen next.

Shredder turned around to face the three girls. "You need to be taught a lesson. Foot Ninja, educate them."

The Foot Ninja all drew there weapons and leaped towards the three girls, forcing them to scatter.

Five ninja charged towards Ty-Lee with swords and staffs being swung her way. She was able to avoid all their strikes with her graceful agility. One tried to swing his blade at her, but she jumped behind and nailed him in the back, blocking his chi and causing him to fall over, paralyzed. Two came in with their swords from both directions but she jumped high and landed on both their blades before blocking the chi in their necks, causing them to fall over as well. One tried to hit her from behind with his staff, but she swung on the staff and landed behind him blocking his chi right afterwards. The last one tried to hit her in the chest but she swerved under his punch and blocked his chi as well.

Mai avoided the shurikens of four incoming ninja by sliding on the ground and ducking behind a tree for cover. She jumped on a tree branch and jumped forward, throwing many knives, which hit all the ninja in the sleeves of their shirts and pants, pinning them to the ground. Mai backed away just in time to avoid a massive punch, where she came face-to-face with the hulking behemoth known as Hun, who cracked his knuckles.

"Nice trick." He told her. "Too bad it ain't gonna cut it against me."

Mai flashed another knife before glaring towards Hun.

Six ninjas all leaped at once towards Azula, but she jumped back just as their swords hit the ground. She landed on her hands and shoot both her feet forward, sending a large ball of blue fire towards them, it exploded and sent many of them flying back. Four tried to ambush her from behind but they failed as she got back on her feet and sent a vertical fire arc forward forcing them to separate. When they jumped towards her, she sent a powerful sweep of fire towards them, hitting them and sending them flying back as well.

Azula then felt a kick in her back, forcing her to flip on her hands and land back on her feet, before looking at who would dare attack her.

Karai unsheathed both her katanas as she looked towards Azula. "You are good. Especially with the use of your fire, but let us see how you do against an opponent of equal stature."

"You think you're on par with me?" Azula questioned with an amused smile. "I'll give you credit on being so bold, but lets see if you can back up those words."

Mai jumped over Hun's punch and landed behind him, but had to roll back to avoid a powerful elbow. Mai had to admit, that this guy was surprisingly fast for someone so large. He gripped both his hands together and tried to bring them down on her but she backs-flipped out of the way and shot many daggers towards him; he slapped them away with the back of his arm, much to her surprise, they left a few minor cuts, but he ignored them. Hun slowly walked towards her but felt something hit his head.

Ty-Lee jumped on his head and jumped off, using the force from her jump to knock him down onto the ground as she landed gracefully next to her friend.

"You okay?" Ty-Lee asked with concern.

"I'm fine, thanks." Mai replied.

"This guy is really big, and I mean _really_ big." Ty-Lee observed.

"You said it."

Hun got back up and glared towards them. "Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you just because you're girls."

Meanwhile, Karai and Azula we're locked in a heated duel. Karai swung her blades forward, forcing Azula back. She shot a powerful stream of blue fire towards Karai, who spun her right blade like a helicopter to disperse the flaming attack, as she did this, Karai dug her left blade into the ground and swung up a stream of dirt, dispersing the fire attack coming from the princess.

Karai used this to get in close; she swung her blades down just as Azula created two blue flaming daggers in her hands to intercept the blades. Karai swung again, sweeping out the flames, and she gave a kick to Azula's side. Azula stabilized herself and gave a flaming sweep of her feet to knock Karai off her feet, but she quickly flipped back up to her feet, only to face an incoming fireball. No time to think, Karai simply cut through the fire and jumped between the gap just as it exploded from behind her.

Karai mentally admitted that this girl was good, very good. It seemed evident that the two we're quite evenly matched. Azula noted this herself, and would not allow this, it was bad enough a group of turtles got the best of her, and she would not allow this sword-woman to do the same.

Azula shot multiple streams of fire with several punches and kicks, forcing Karai to avoid them. Karai could not respond to this as Azula came in with a flaming cut from her hand; which knocked Karai back on her feet. Azula gave a triumphant smile as she approached her downed opponent, but her victory came short as something powerful smacked her across the face, sending her rolling back. Azula got back up to see the attacker.

Shredder looked towards Azula as he saw her get up. "It is evident, girl, that you require discipline."

The two glared at each other, almost like alpha predators fighting over dominance. After a few seconds of heated glaring, they both charged forward.

Hun swung his massive fists around quickly, in an attempt to hit both Mai and Ty-Lee, who we're stuck jumping and sliding to avoid getting hit. Mai was swept by a backhand from Hun. Ty-Lee responded by jabbing her hand into Hun's right shoulder, and he backed up.

"Ha, what was that?" He joked. "A tickle?"

"Nope, that was me chi-blocking you." Ty-Lee replied.

"It might not have hurt, but you won't be moving that arm for a while." Mai added.

Hun felt his right arm with his left hand and could tell that it was numb. He glared before running forward again, swinging his left fist, forcing them to separate. Right as Ty-Lee landed, Hun gave a powerful kick with his right foot, hitting her in the side, causing her to roll across the ground.

Mai glared at him for that. She jumped and planted both her feet on his chest, knocking him flat on his back before she took out her knives and pinned him to the ground with his shirt. She quickly helped Ty-Lee up.

"Are you alright?"

"I've been better, thanks for the save." Ty-Lee responded.

Before anything else could be said, they heard a yell and looked towards something that made both their eyes widen.

Azula blasted a stream of blue fire towards Shredder, which he took with his right shoulder before quickly jumping high and landing in front of Azula, knocking her back with the slap of his right arm. She back-flipped quite a distance and sent more streams of blue fire in his direction, but he was quick enough to avoid getting hit by either attack and he quickly came up to her face, holding his clawed-arm up and almost brought it down onto her, but she jumped back to avoid it.

Azula felt some blood trickle down her face as Shredder's claws barley grazed her right cheek. She had to wonder, how could someone who wears so much armor be as quick and agile as Ty-Lee. _No, this man, he's even faster than Ty-Lee._

Azula couldn't finish her thought as a flying kick from Shredder sent her rolling back. She tried to get up and sent a powerful stream of blue fire in his direction, but Shredder was already in front of her. He grabbed her by the wrist and forced her to shoot the fire in a separate direction. He lifted her up by the wrist and threw her aside like a rag-doll. Azula took many quick breaths as she looked towards him, wondering how this was even possible. She looked up and saw that Shredder was in between two large trees, she smiled as she sent a powerful wave of blue fire with the sweep of her legs, Shredder jumped back but he wasn't her target. The wave cut through the two trees, and subsequently lit them on fire, forcing them to fall back towards Shredder.

Azula gave a triumphant smile at this, but her victor was yet again cut short as she heard some slashing noises. The tree was cut through and she could only look in surprise as Shredder walked through the fire like it was nothing.

Mai and Ty-Lee could not believe what they we're seeing with their own eyes. This man was actually beating Azula single-handedly, he was fast enough to avoid most of her attacks, and any that did hit him had little to know effect. He was way faster than Azula.

Hun looked at this with a knowing grin, while Karai just looked unsurprised as she got up.

One palm strike from Shredder sent Azula back towards a tree and he slowly approached her. "Your skills are amusing, child. But you are nothing to me."

Ty-Lee decided to jump in, she landed behind Shredder and tried to jab his right shoulder to block his chi, but she only felt metal as it hurt her hand.

"Ow!" She chanted repeatedly as she held her hand. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow!" She slowly looked up to see Shredder glaring down at her. She gave a fearful gulp right before he gave multiple punches and palm strikes, enough to send her flying.

Shredder slowly approached Ty-Lee as she looked up towards him in fear. Before he could do anything however, a knife was heading towards his face. Much to everyone's surprise, however, he caught the knife with his bare hand. Mai could only look in absolute shock, and even more so as he crushed the knife in hi hand.

"Pathetic." He spat as he grabbed Ty-Lee and quickly threw her to Mai, causing the two to roll back. "But then again, this is to be expected when your opponents are mere children. Now I shall…" Shredder wasn't able to finish as a surge of electricity shot through his armor and he yelled in pain; much to the shock of Karai and Hun.

Shredder fell forward facedown, revealing Azula in a position with her fingers extended and smoke coming from them. She had shot lightning at Shredder and scored a direct hit. Azula smiled as she gave a slight chuckle.

"Mai, Ty-Lee, thank you for distracting him, it gave me the proper opening." Azula told them.

"Uh… your welcome?" Ty-Lee gave a slight smile, while Mai just scowled a little bit.

Azula looked down towards the fallen villain. "This serves you right. Who do you think you are to treat me so lowly, you may have some skill, but I am far superior!"

She was cut off by a faint chuckle. She looked in surprise at where it was coming from. Shredder's hands we're placed on the ground and he slowly pushed himself up as he continued to laugh.

Mai and Ty-Lee could only look in absolute terror at this as Shredder got back up and laughed even more. His laugh would strike terror into their hearts. None however, we're more terrified than Azula who could only look in disbelief.

"No… No… this… this isn't… possible." She breathed as Shredder turned around towards her, and she found herself backing up away from him. "How? That… that was a direct hit!" Shredder slowly walked towards her as she backed up even more. "No one…. Survives lighting! Who… no… what…. WHAT ARE YOU?!" She yelled, completely loosing her composure.

"I am the Shredder."

He then gave multiple punches and palm-strikes towards Azula, who was unable to block any of them. He gave a knee to her gut, a punch across the face, a slash on her side, a kick to her chest, and finally a back-slap that sent her flying towards a tree, her head hitting hard against it, and knocking her unconscious.

Mai and Ty-Lee's expressions couldn't be described with mere words. This Shredder had just survived a direct hit from lighting, and defeated Azula. He slowly turned towards them, Ty-Lee held onto Mai as she was clearly frightened, and Mai wasn't too far behind.

"Now, what shall I do with you?" He mused. Karai approached him.

"Father, if I may…"

 _"_ _FATHER?!"_ Mai and Ty-Lee both thought at the same time.

"…We still know nothing about this world, and that one said she was a princess." Karai gestured to Azula. "She will likley have some knowledge, perhaps they have vaule to us."

Shredder considered this for a moment before coming to a decision. "Very well then, restrain them."

"Mai, I'm scared." Ty-Lee squeaked.

"Me too, Ty-Lee. Me to."

* * *

Elsewhere; Zuko and Iroh rode on their ostrich-horse through a rocky valley. As they rode, Iroh twitched and made a few aching sounds as he was in slight pain.

"Maybe we should make camp." Zuko suggested.

"No please, don't stop just for me." Iroh assured before groaning quite dramatically.

Zuko decided to stop, he got off the ostrich-horse with his uncle, who sat down and held his aching shoulder. The ostrich-horse gave a squawk as it sensed something coming.

"What now?" Iroh questioned impatiently.

Before they knew it, five heavily armed men surrounded the duo, each riding on top of a Komodo-Rhino, and each of them bearing all sorts of dangerous weapons.

Zuko immediately took a combat-stance, while Iroh got up with a friendly smile. "Colonel Mongke. What a pleasant surprise."

"If you're surprised we're here, than the Dragon of the West has lost a few steps." He and all his other men each showed off their weapons, in an effort to intimidate the two Firebenders.

"You know these guys?" Zuko asked his uncle.

"Sure, Colonel Mongke and the Rough Rhinos are legendary. Each one is a different kind of weapon's specialist. They are also a very capable signing group." Iroh explained.

"We're not here to give a concert!" Mongke exclaimed. "We're here to apprehend fugitives."

"Would you like some tea first?" Iroh offered. "I'd love some. How about you, Kahchi? I make you as… a jasmine man. Am I right?"

"Enough stalling! Round them up!" Mongke ordered.

Ogodei immediately flung his ball-and-chain towards Iroh, which he was able to kick away, causing the chain to wrap around the leg of Kahchi's Komodo-Rhino. Iroh quickly rolled under a flaming arrow and a fireball and slapped the Kahchi's Komodo-Rhino, causing it to run away and pulling Ogodei with him. Iroh gave a friendly wave as he was pulled away.

Vachir shot a flaming arrow towards Zuko, who cut it away with a flaming swipe of his hand. Zuko then shot a thing stream of fire, blowing a hole in the bow and cutting the string, much to Vachir's horror.

Mongke then shot multiple fire-streaks towards Iroh, who was able to block them all with palm-strikes. This gave Zuko an opening to come in from behind and send Mongke off his Komodo-Rhino with a flaming sweep of his legs.

Iroh quickly remounted the ostrich-horse, which began to run away from the battle. Zuko jumped on and the two began to retreat. As they ran, Yeh-Lu pursued them on his Komodo-Rhino; he lit a bomb and threw it to them, which exploded. Zuko and Iroh rode out of the smoke on their ostrich-horse, and manage to get away.

"It's nice to see old friends." Iroh said.

"To bad you don't have any old friends who don't want to attack you." Zuko stated.

Iroh looked a bit surprised. "Hmm. Old friends that don't want to attack me." He considered.

* * *

 _Back in the desert._

Leo, Katara, Raph, Toph, Sokka, Don, and Mikey continued to walk through the scorching heat, with no end of the desert inside. The Turtles we're able to endure it, due to their ninja training, but they could tell the kids we're having more trouble, so they hung back with them to help them out. Raph stuck close to Toph, who had a difficult time, 'seeing' in this desert.

Sokka hung Momo over him to give him some shade, but was bumped in the back by Toph.

"Can't you watch where you're…"

"No." Toph replied.

"Right, sorry." Sokka said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Katara stopped. "Come on, we need to stick together."

Sokka tried to pry himself loose from Toph as their clothes we're stuck together. "If I sweat any more, I don't think sticking together will be a problem."

Raph placed his hand on Sokka's face and shoved him off Toph.

Mikey rubbed the sweat off his face. "Oh man, now I know what the inside of a pizza feels like."

"Donnie, are you sure this is the right way?" Raph asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Don replied. "This is the way we came, but without Appa we're stuck walking there."

"Does anyone have any water?" Toph asked.

"I do." Leo said as he took out a large water-sack. "When I heard we'd be going into the desert, I got quite a bit while we we're at that tavern. But between all of us, we still gotta conserve."

Leo opened the cap and Katara bent some water out of it, creating a series of floating water orbs that flew into the mouths of each of them.

Mikey let it swirled in his mouth for a while. "Hmm. Bending water tastes weird."

Raph looked down to Toph. "Hey kid, you doing okay?"

"I'm fine."

Raph kneeled down on her level. "Still upset about Appa?" Toph didn't answer. "Listen Toph, what Aang said was total garbage, you shouldn't listen to people who give you crap like that."

"Raph, take it easy." Katara tried. "Aang's just going through a hard time."

"I would take it easy." Raph replied. "If the kid didn't fly off and leaves out here to fend for ourselves!"

"Raph, stop. We're not going to put the blame on anyone, we need to focus on getting out of here, and we only have a limited supply of water."

Sokka soon eyed something that made him smile. "Not anymore! Look!" He pointed to a cactus.

"Yes! Thank you!" Mikey praised as he, Sokka, even Momo ran to the cactus. Sokka used his machete to cut open the cactus and the three immediately drank from them.

"Wha… Sokka! Mikey! You guys don't even know what's in them!" Don told them as they all ran forward.

Regardless, the three guzzled down the white juice that was in the cactus. "I may not know what it is, but it is good!" Mikey said.

"Want some?" Sokka offered.

"I don't know." Katara replied as she warily took a step back.

"No thanks." Raph said as he stuck out his hand.

"Suit yourselves, it's very thirst quenching though." Sokka said.

However, both Mikey and Sokka's eyes changed as their pupils widened as they both began to shake their heads rapidly

"Drink Cactus Juice! It'll quench ya!" Sokka said as he we're advertising in a commercial.

"Yep, nothing's quenchier." Mikey said in a similar tone as he flapped on the ground.

"It's the quienchiest!" They both said at the same time with wide smiles.

Leo, Don, and Katara each looked with one raised eyebrow while Raph just face-palmed.

"Okay, I think you two had enough." Katara said as she dumped the cactus juice out.

"It's clearly some kind of hallucinogen." Don observed.

"What tipped you off, braniac?" Raph asked sarcastically.

"Who lit Toph on fire?" Sokka asked as he looked to the girl.

"Whoa Leo…" Mikey dazed. "Since when was your skin made of gold?"

They soon all looked up to Momo who was flying around in circles before flying straight down and slamming on the ground.

"Can I get some of that cactus?" Toph asked.

"Trust me, you don't want any." Leo told her. "Come on, let's keep moving."

Katara took Toph's hand and helped her while Leo, Don, and Raph followed; but Mikey, Sokka, and Momo just looked dazedly up at the sky. Raph came up to them and flung both of them over his shoulders, along with Momo.

"How did we get out here in the middle of the ocean?" The hallucinating Sokka asked.

"We flew here on a giant rainbow-barfing unicorn." The hallucinating Mikey replied.

"As if these two weren't enough trouble already." Raph uttered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aang continued to fly on his glider, looking for his beloved bison. He blew into his whistle. "APPA!"

Aang flew downwards and landed on a small sand dune. "APPA!" He called again, but got no response. He could not believe any of this was happening. "No. NOOOO!" He angrily slammed his staff on the ground with Airbending, creating a giant mushroom cloud.

* * *

The rest of the group saw that cloud from the distance. Much dust flew their way before they saw it.

"What is that?" Katara asked.

"What? What is what?" Toph asked, as she was unable to see it.

"A mushroom cloud. Usually the after-affect of a bomb going off." Don replied.

"Or more likely the kid throwing a temper-tantrum." Raph said.

"A giant mushroom." The hallucinating Mikey gazed.

"Maybe it's friendly!" The hallucinating Sokka exclaimed.

"Come on, let's move." Leo ordered.

"I hope Aang's okay." Katara hopped as they all began to walk away.

"Friendly mushroom! Mushy-giant-friend!" Sokka gazed as he wrung his body around with Momo hanging on.

"All hail the giant mushroom! All hail the giant mushroom!" Mikey gazed as well as he bowed repeatedly.

* * *

 _Misty Palm's Oasis._

"Yeah. A little bare-foot blind girl and her friends passed through here a few days ago." A man explained to Xin Fu and Yu.

"Did they give you any indication where they we're heading?" Yu asked.

"Maybe you could give me a little incentive?" The man asked, rubbing his fingers together.

"You suggesting I break your fingers?" Xin-Fu questioned.

"They went into the desert!" The frightened man quickly replied. "To bad there's almost no chance they survived."

Xin Fu wasn't really fazed by this. "That's okay, because she's wanted dead or alive."

"No she's not!" Yu told his partner. "I'm certain her father wants her alive."

Xin Fu saw something that caught his attention. "Hey look. Fire Nation wanted posters." They saw five posters, one of Aang, another of the Blue Spirit, and one of Zuko and Iroh.

"So?" Yu asked.

"So, look who's here." Xin Fu said as they looked behind to see Zuko and Iroh enter a tavern, the two bounty hunters looked to each other with knowing grins.

* * *

Azula's eyes slowly opened as she regained consciousness. She tried to move, but something was holding her down, and she felt something around her mouth, she was unable to talk. She then looked at herself and saw her hands we're tied behind her back; rope was wrapped around her upper body, binding her arms to her sides; her ankles we're also tied together; and she had a thick cloth wrapped over her mouth to keep her from speaking. There was another long rope that kept her already tied up body tied to the bottom of large tree that she was sitting against.

"Mmmph! Mmmhph!" She grunted as she struggled in her bindings.

"Azmmpha! Mmmph!" Azula looked to her right to find Ty-Lee tied up in the exact same fashion, also tied to the same tree, looking quite frightened. Azula then looked to her left to find Mai in the exact same possession.

"Grrrmmph!" Mai struggled.

Azula looked up where she saw at least forty Foot Ninja inspecting her vehicle, along with a large metal body with a transparent image of a man's head serving as the head.

"Hmm, this is quite primitive." Stockman observed. "If I had to guess, I'd say this early industrial work. I wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't invented the telegram yet."

"So this world's low on tech, big whoop." Hun brushed off.

"Regardless, we should not let our guard down." Karai advised.

"Karai is quite correct." That voice made Mai, Ty-Lee, even Azula tremble as they looked to see Shredder walking onto the scene. "We know little-to-nothing about this world, and we cannot afford to underestimate the inhabitants, as our prisoner as shown us, the ability to generate fire."

There was a cloud of smoke that appeared in front of the Shredder, Karai, and Hun. Out of the smoke we're four heavily armed warriors, the Shredder's Elite Guard, his most deadly warriors. They kneeled before their master.

"Well, what did you find?" Shredder asked.

"Master." One Elite Foot began. "It is not just fire, people control here. We saw many able move the earth as well."

"Are you certain?" Karai asked, quite surprised.

"Indeed." Another Foot Elite replied. "And what's more this world appears to be engulfed in a war. There is also a mention of one being who is capable of not just controlling fire and earth, but also water and air. Someone called the Avatar."

"Is that so?" Shredder asked, as he was now interested. "I'm sure the Turtles are likely involved in this now, knowing them."

That one word caused the bound and gagged Azula, Ty-Lee, and Mai to look at each other with surprise. "Trrtmmls?!"

"Mmmph! Mmmmpphh! Mmmmpph!" Ty-Lee moaned loudly through her gag to try and get their attention.

Hun slowly walked towards her. "You got something to say kid?" She nodded. Hun then pulled off the gag, allowing Ty-Lee to talk.

"You said Turtles. We met those guys! Four of them, they can walk and talk like people. Got some colorful masks on!"

Hun looked a little surprised, as did Karai. Shredder found himself quite interested. "What do you know of the Turtles?" Shredder asked.

"Well we fought them." Ty-Lee began. "And lost, but there traveling with the Avatar, I'm guessing their probably friends now."

Shredder looked down towards Azula who tried to muster up a glare of defiance, but Shredder saw through her. He raised his claws and quickly brought them down, cutting the rope binding Azula. She took off her gag before Shredder seized her by her collar and brought her to his face.

As she looked into his red eyes, a new emotion swept through her, something she has never once experienced in her life. Fear.

"You will tell me everything you know of this world, starting with this Avatar."

* * *

 _The Desert_

The Sun hung low, so the temperature was now starting to cool. The Turtles, and the kids continued their walk through the seemingly endless desert, with Leo leading the group and Katara close behind him.

They saw a shadow pass over them, it was Aang on his glider. He set down on his knees near the group where Katara and Leo made their way to him.

"I'm guessing you haven't had any luck." Leo assumed, Aang didn't answer.

"I'm sorry Aang." Katara tried to console. "I know it's hard for you right now, but we need to focus on getting out of here." She put a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off.

"What's the difference?" Aang said. "We won't survive without Appa, we all know it."

"Great." Raph rolled his eyes. "Now he's going emo on us." The others choose to ignore his comment.

"Don't tell me you're giving up already" Leo stated. "We can still get out of here."

"He's right." Katara agreed. "We got a chance if we work together. Toph?"

"As far as I can feel, we're trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding. I got nothing."

"Don, anything?" Leo asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say we're at least thirty miles away from the edge of this place. And between how much water we have for the eight of us, we won't have enough to make it out without serious dehydration."

"Sokka?" Katara asked.

"Why don't we ask the circle-birds?" The hallucinating Sokka suggested as he, Mikey, and Momo lied flat on the ground.

"Mr. circle birds, what's the address to the nearest pizza-joint?" the hallucinating Mikey asked.

Leo, Raph, Katara, and Don looked up to see four wasp-vulture-like creatures circling the group in the air.

"Are those supposed to be buzzards, or something?" Raph asked, resulting in Leo and Don giving him questionable looks. "No pun-intended. But from the looks of things, I'd say about half this group has already given up."

"We are not going to die out here!" Leo exclaimed. "Everyone up! Now!"

"Leo's right! We're getting out of this desert, and we're gonna do it together!"

"Raph, you help Toph. Don, take Sokka. Katara, you'll help Mikey. Get up Aang, we're leaving now!" Leo stated as they began walking. Raph stuck close to Toph and helped her walk through the sand; Don took the hallucinating Sokka over his shoulder, along with Momo; Katara took Mikey's hand as he still had a wide-hallucinating-smile; Leo picked Aang up by his arm and the group continued walking.

* * *

The sun had just about set and the stars began to show as night had now fallen. The group came to a large sand dune.

"I think we should stop for the night." Katara suggested.

Aang, Toph, Sokka, even Mikey all fell face-flat on the ground, Raph and Don crouched down to catch their breath while Leo just stood with Katara. Leo walked towards Mikey who began snoring like a chainsaw.

"Mikey's out cold." Leo informed.

"Well at least he's getting some rest." Katara said. "Don?"

"If we keep walking straight, I'd say we can get out of here in two days max; and that's if we don't sleep at all."

"Is there any more water?" Toph asked.

"Hang on." Katara said as she began to bend some water from her satchel. Momo, still high on Cactus Juice flew into the water, causing it to spill.

"MOMO NO!" Sokka yelled. "YOU'VE KILLED US ALL!"

"No he hasn't." Katara said as she bent the water out of the sand and back into her satchel.

"Oh, right. Bending."

"Plus I got some extra anyway." Leo added.

Raph got down next to Toph with some water and helped her to drink some. Don walked up to Sokka. "Sokka let me see what kind of map you got from the library."

The pony-tailed-teen held his bag close. "What!? I didn't steel anything! Who told you that!?" He looked to Momo. "It was you! You ratted me out!" The flying lemur began to cry.

"We we're there, idiot." Raph reminded.

Sokka took the maps out; he picked up something that caught his interest. "Hey, a star-chart! Perfect!"

"It doesn't matter, none of those will tell us where Appa is." Aang said, resulting in Raph rolling his eyes again; Aang was really starting to get on his nerves now.

"Maybe not, but they can help us get out of this pit." Leo said. "Can this help Don?"

"You bet." He replied. "We can travel at night when the temperature is low, and rest during the day."

"I hate to say it, but no one is willing to travel right now." Raph said and they looked to see Aang, Mikey, Toph, Sokka, and Momo we're all lying flat on the ground, quite exhausted.

"Just try to get some sleep, we'll start again in a few hours." Katara said.

Raph and Don began to lie down and tried to get some rest. Leo meanwhile sat down next to Katara.

"How you holding up?"

"I don't know to be honest." Katara replied, looking down.

"You're really something, you know that?" Leo began. "Most of them have already given up, but you're keeping a cool head, your taking charge. That's something admirable."

Katara turned to him slightly. "Yeah well, to tell you the truth, I'm scared. I'm scared that we're not gonna make it out of this."

Leo put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look to him as he had a serious expression on his face. "Don't ever loose hope. That's the first lesson Master Splinter taught us. Your will can be your greatest weapon, we are going to make it out of this. I don't know about you, but my brothers and I have been through our fair share of hopeless situations before, and this won't be the last. We fall and stumble, yes; but we pick ourselves up, and our struggles only make us stronger."

Katara looked to him with a small smile. "Thanks Leo, I really needed that."

Leo smiled and nodded. "Get some rest, you need some to."

* * *

 _Misty Palms Oasis._

Zuko and Iroh sat in the tavern. Zuko took a moment to look at his surroundings.

"No one here is going to help us, these people just look like filthy wonderers."

"So do we." Iroh replied. He noticed something behind Zuko that got his attention. "Ah, this is interesting." Zuko looked behind to see an old man at a Pai-Sho table on the other side of the tavern. "I think I found our friend."

"You brought us here to gamble on Pai-Sho?" Zuko questioned.

"I do not think that this is a gamble." Iroh replied as the two walked over to the table. Little do they know, they are being watched by two certain men.

"Let's take them now!" Xin-Fu said as he got up, but Yu put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"This place is full of desperate characters. If they find out we're collecting a bounty, we may have to fight them all just to keep our prize. Patience."

Xin-Fu sat back down.

Zuko and Iroh approached the Pai-Sho Table.

"May I have this game?" Iroh asked.

"The guest has the first move." The man said as Iroh sat across from him. Iroh took the White Lotus tile and placed it in the middle of the board. "I see you favor the White Lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways."

"Those who do can always find a friend." Iroh replied.

"Then let us play."

Zuko sat down as he watched the two elderly men lay down a series of Pai-Sho tiles across the table. It finally ended when the tiles formed a pattern on the table that bore the resemblance of a lotus.

"Welcome brother. The White Lotus opens wide to all those who know her secrets."

"What are you old gas bags talking about?" Zuko questioned.

"I always tried to tell you that Pai-Sho is more than just a game." Iroh replied as he played with a tile in his fingers.

Xin-Fu was not one for knowing patience. "I'm not waiting all night for these geezers to finish yapping!" He and Yu got up and approached the table. "It's over! You two fugitives are coming with me!"

The old man got up. "I knew it!" He said. "You two are wanted criminals with a giant bounty on your heads!"

"I thought you said he would help!" Zuko exclaimed to Iroh.

"He is, just watch." Iroh whispered.

The old man turned to Yu and Xin-Fu. "You think you are going to capture them and collect all that gold?"

That caught the attention of pretty much everyone in the tavern. "Gold?" Every one of them bore some sort of weapon, ready to collect this gold; Xin-Fu and Yu we're surrounded.

"Uh… maybe we shouldn't." Yu suggested, but Xin-Fu bore an eager smile and cracked his neck.

He kicked and sent a rock that knocked back two goons in front of him. Yu made a stance and quickly sunk an incoming guy into the ground. Xin-Fu fought off a group of Sandbenders, he kicked two of them before throwing two more away and into a wall over the bar counter.

Zuko, Iroh, and the old man used this as a distraction to slip away unnoticed.

Xin-Fu and Yu stood in the middle of the broken tavern, surrounded by the unconscious bodies of all the goons; they saw that their prize has vanished. In his frustration, Xin-Fu raised a column of earth that sent a poor guy flying out the window.

* * *

 _The Desert_

It was still night outside as the group slowly began to wake up. Leo and Katara we're the first. Katara went to her brother, whom Momo had buried in sand.

"Come on, get up. We need to go." Katara said as Sokka, still a bit high on Cactus Juice, got up.

Mikey groaned as Don helped him up. "You doing okay Mikey?"

"Ugh. My head feels like it was in a paint mixer. Don, next time I try to drink out of a cactus, just hit me real hard." Mikey said, as he was no longer high and starting to regain his senses.

Don gave an amused smile as he patted his brother's shoulder.

Raph helped Toph up. "How you feeling, kid?"

Toph smacked her lips. "Yesterday my mouth tasted like mud, now it just tastes like sand. I never thought I'd miss the taste of mud so much."

Katara made her way over to Aang.

"I'm awake, I couldn't sleep."

"Well, we need to get moving if we wanna get out of this sandpit." Katara said as Aang got up.

He looked towards the moon and saw a familiar shape. "Appa!" He happily exclaimed.

"Where?" Mikey questioned as he looked around.

"Appa?" Sokka asked as he was still hallucinating. "But why would Princess Yue need him? She's the moon, she flies by herself."

After a closer look, the group was disappointed when they saw it wasn't the Sky-Bison.

"It's just a cloud." Katara said.

"Wait, a cloud!" Don stated. "A cloud has water in it!"

"You're right!" Katara went to Aang. "Here, fly up and bend the water from that cloud into my pouch."

Aang shot an angry look to Katara as he took the pouch and flew up to the cloud. He flew through it twice before it disappeared. He flew back down and threw it to Katara.

She was disappointed as she looked into it. "Wow, there's hardly any more."

"I'm sorry, okay?!" Aang angrily yelled. "It's a desert cloud, I did all I could! What's anyone else doing?! What are _you_ doing?!" He angrily pointed his staff towards Katara.

Raph couldn't take any more of this. "What she has been doing is working her butt off to keep this group together, which is more than I can say for you, you little ingrate!"

Aang glared towards Raph. "What?!"

"You heard me!" Raph began. "You have done nothing at all to help us! You've just pouted and wined like a three your old! In fact, you left us hanging in the middle of the desert and didn't even bother to help us!"

"I was looking for Appa!"

"Oh great for you." Raph said sarcastically. "And hey, while you we're out there, we we're trekking though this Hell-hole, practically DYING! You hear me?! You left us to die you little brat!"

"Raph, stop!" Katara tried.

"No, I'm sick of you giving this kid the sugar-treatment, and I'm sick of his bad attitude!" Raph stated.

"That's enough, Raph." Don tried.

"He needs to hear this." Raph turned back to Aang. "Look at your so-called friends kid. Toph is completely helpess! Mikey and Sokka are high on Cactus Juice! The rest of us are nearly starving to death out here, and you're more worried about your stupid bison!?" Raph shoved Aang a bit as he yelled.

"Who are you calling stupid?!" Aang yelled back.

"I was talking about the bison, but if the shoe fits!" Raph exclaimed. "Well I say, who needs ya? You want to search for that hair ball, go ahead! But you'd be doing it on your own. We got more important things to worry about! You can either help us, or get lost you good for nothing, whiny little brat!"

In his anger, Aang sent a gust of wind to Raph, sending him rolling across the dune; much to everyone's shock.

"Uh oh." Don grimaced.

"He did not just do that." Mikey said.

Raph slowly got up and was breathing like a hungry animal. "That tears it." Raph then jumped to Aang and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him sliding hard against the dune. When Aang got up, he saw Raph had his sais out. "You wanna go kid? Huh, is that what you want?!"

"You take back what you said! You take it all back!" Aang yelled.

"Make me!"

Raph and Aang then charged at each other. Katara was about to stop them, but Leo already beaten her to the punch. Leo quickly appeared between the two, and they stopped when he drew both his swords and pointed them towards each of their necks.

"Raph! Aang! That's enough! Both of you cool off!"

"Out of the way Leo, this punk needs to learn a lesson." Raph said.

"Aang could have taken handled a little better, that much we agree on." Leo began. "But we're not getting out of this desert if we end up killing each other. So cool it, Raph."

Raph gave a sigh as he put away his sais and walked away. Leo turned to Aang who still had a scowl on his face.

"You need to cool it to." Leo said. "We're all worried about Appa, but we can't find him if we die out here. We get out of this pit first, and then I promise we'll find Appa. But your attitude isn't helping, and neither is you blaming everyone, especially Katara when she's been doing all she can to keep this group together."

"What do you know?" Aang angrily asked.

"I know a lot more than you think Aang. Like for example, I know that your not mad at any of us, your mad at yourself for not being there for Appa. So cool of, because Raph is right, your bad attitude is only making this ordeal worse."

Leo put away his swords. "Let's get moving."

Katara looked towards Leo and let all the words he spoke sink in.

The group continued their walk. Toph's foot hit something and she tripped. "Crud!" She exclaimed as she held her stubbed toe. "I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going! And what idiot buried a boat in the middle of the desert?!"

"A boat?" Don and Katara questioned at the same time.

"Believe me, I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations." Toph grumbled.

Don and Katara inspected the part that Toph stubbed her toe on. Aang got down near them and swung his staff, using Airbending to bend all the sand away from it, revealing what was buried.

"Dudes! It's a Sandbender boat!" Mikey recognized.

"Finally! Something good for us!" Raph exclaimed.

Katara, Leo, and Don got onto it. "Look, it's got some kind of compass on it! I bet it can point us out of here!" She tapped the compass to make sure it worked, and it did.

"Alright then." Leo began. "Don you and Katara can navigate while Aang uses his Airbending to blow this thing. We're getting out of this desert!"

"I hear that bro." Raph and Leo high-fived, as did Don. They all turned to see Sokka, still high, burring Momo with a wide smile on his face.

* * *

The old man had led Zuko and Iroh into a flower shop. He made sure to close and lock the door behind them.

"It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus. Being a Grandmaster, you must know so many secrets." He led the two Firebenders to a back room in the shop.

"Now that you played Pai-Sho, are you going to do some flower arranging? Or is someone in this club gonna offer us some _real_ help?" Zuko impatiently asked.

Iroh looked towards his friend. "You must forgive my nephew. He is not an initiate, and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts."

They knocked on the door and a small window opened. "Who knocks at the guarded gate?" A man behind the door asked.

"One who has eaten the fruit, and tasted its mysteries." Iroh replied. The door was opened and the two elderly men entered, Zuko was about to enter but the door closed before he could. The window opened with Iroh behind it. "I'm afraid it's members only, wait out here."

Zuko then leaned against a box and sniffed a flower, for the sake of boredom.

* * *

Back in the desert; the eight heroes sailed through the sands on the sailor. Aang was blowing air to keep it going; Raph sat on the right side next to Toph; Mikey sat with Sokka on the left side; Leo, Don, and Katara stood at the top with the compass. Katara looked at the compass while Don looked at the star-chart.

"Uh, oh. We may have a problem." Don said.

Raph groaned. " _Now_ what?!"

"The needle on this compass isn't pointing north, not according to these charts." Katara replied.

"Take it easy guys." The still-high-Sokka said. "I'm sure the sand-folks who built this baby know how to get around here."

Leo looked towards Mikey. "How come he's still out of it, but your getting better?"

"Must be ninja training, remember? Master Splinter told us how to strengthen our immune system." Mikey replied. "And my head's starting to feel a lot better."

"Good." Raph replied. "Now we only got one useless idiot to worry about."

"Hey, what's that?" Leo asked, pointing forward.

Katara looked to where he was pointing. "That's what the compass is pointing to, that giant rock."

"Of course, it's gotta be the magnetic center of the desert." Don realized.

"A rock?" Toph excitedly asked. "Yes! Let's go!"

"Maybe we can find some food and shelter." Don hopped.

"Maybe we can find some Sandbenders." Aang said in a rather vindictive tone, something that Leo noticed.

* * *

The sun had now risen as the group had now climbed to the top of the large rock.

"Ah finally!" Toph sighed happily. "Solid ground." She fell back, and began to make a rock angel.

"Your making an angel out of rock, you're the coolest little girl I've ever met." Raph said with a cocked smile.

Leo looked out to the horizon. "The sun is about to rise. We should get inside before the heat hits, see if we can find some food and water."

They all walked into the large cave. Sokka sighed a bit. "I think my head is starting to clear out the Cactus Juice. And Look!" He picked up some slime-like substance from the walls and licked it, and also gave some to Momo. He then spat it out, as did the flying Lemur. "Taste like rotten penguin meat!" He hung his head down. "Oh I feel woozy."

"You've been hallucinating on Cactus Juice all day, and then you just lick something you find stuck to the wall of a cave?!" Katara angrily questioned.

"There is something seriously wrong with you, you know that right?" Raph questioned as well.

"I have a natural curiosity." Sokka replied.

"You're curiosity is anything but natural." Don said.

"Seriously Sokka, even _I_ think that's dumb." Mikey added.

Toph began to feel the wall with her hand. "I don't think this is a normal cave. This was… carved by something."

"Yeah, look at the shape." Aang said as he looked to the ceiling, Don looked as well.

"It's shaped like a hexagon. Just like…" It dawned on Don. "Like hornet hives."

"This isn't a cave, it's nest!" Leo exclaimed.

"Well whatever's in here, it's coming for us!" Toph sensed.

"Everyone out! Now!" Leo ordered.

They all ran outside, and following them we're the vulture-wasp creatures they saw earlier, only there we're many more. They quickly surrounded the group, while the Turtles drew their weapons.

"Finally!" Raph exclaimed with an eager smile. "I've been wanting to hit something all day!"

The vulture-wasps charged forward. Raph ran and tackled one and quickly pinned it down before plunging his sai into its neck, killing it. One tried to come at him from behind and he quickly turned around and kicked it down. When a third tried to attack him, he charged forward, plunging both his sais into its chest.

Leo rolled under one and towards another, in a fluent fashion, he used his katana to cut its wings off and kick it into another incoming vulture-wasp. Leo then blocked a bite by crossing his blades and pushed forward, cutting it's face off.

Don twirled his staff and blocked a sting-strike from one vulture-wasp before bashing it across the head and sending it flying. He then pole-vaulted on his staff and slammed his feet onto another incoming vulture-wasp. As he landed he used his staff to jam the end into the throat of another one that tired to bite him.

As three vulture-wasps surrounded Mikey, he twirled his nunchucks and flailed them at all the incoming bugs, bashing and knocking them all back, despite being hallucinating a few hours ago, he still kept a clear head.

Aang sent an airwave forward that knocked back a vulture-wasp. One sat down on a rock, as soon as Toph sensed it, she sent the rock straight up, sending the creature flying. Toph sent another rock flying, but it just barley landed in front of Sokka.

"What are you doing?! That rock almost crushed me?!"

"Sorry! I can't tell where they are in the air!" Toph replied.

Sokka saw another vulture-wasp fly past him. "I got this one!" He ran forward and began to relentlessly swing his machete.

"Sokka! There's nothing there!" Katara told him.

Sokka realized she was right. "I guess my head's not as clear as I thought."

"When is your head ever clear?" Raph questioned.

"There's too many of them, we need to get out of here! Now!" Leo exclaimed.

A vulture-wasp snatched Momo and began to fly away. "Momo!" Aang exclaimed. "I'm not loosing anyone else out here!" Aang then took off after the vulture-wasp on his glider.

"Come on! We're going down!" Katara said.

The group then began to make their way down the rock, while still fighting off the vulture-wasps. Raph was close to Toph, acting as her eyes.

"Kid! Twelve O'clock!"

Toph shot a rock straightforward, nailing the vulture-wasp.

"Come on, lets keep moving!" Leo stated as they continued to make their way down.

* * *

Aang flew after the vulture-wasp that had Momo in its grip. He flew underneath it and sent an airwave up that freed Momo who flew parallel to Aang. The Avatar saw the vulture-wasp trying to fly away and gave a dark look before flying downward and sending a vertical air-slice forward, which hit and killed the vulture-wasp. Aang still maintained a dark expression before walking back with Momo following him.

* * *

The group was close to making it down to the sailor, only to be surrounded by the rest of the vulture-wasps.

"There's too many! We can't escape them!" Katara exclaimed.

"Then we'll just fight our way through!" Leo declared as he readied his swords.

They wouldn't have to however as multiple, large columns of sand rose from the desert ground and engulfed the vulture-wasps. Not wanting to get killed, the remaining vulture-wasps flew back up towards their hive.

The group saw, as the dust cleared, that they we're surrounded by many Sandbenders.

"Great, this day can't get any more perfect." Raph commented sarcastically just as Aang landed in front of the rest of the group.

* * *

 _Flower Shop_

Zuko was asleep, leaning against the box. The door opened, startling him awake, and he took a combat stance. "What's going on? Is the club-meeting over?"

Iroh and the old man walked outside. "Everything is taken care of." Iroh answered. "We're headed to Ba-Sing-Se."

"Ba-Sing-Se?" Zuko questioned. "Why would we go to the Earth Kingdom capital?"

"The city is filled with refugees." The old man said. "No one will notice two more."

"We can hide in plain sight there." Iroh said. "And it's the safest place in the world from the Fire Nation. Even _I_ couldn't break through to the city."

A man walked in from the front door. "I have the passports for our guests, but there are two men out on the street looking for them."

They looked out the window to see Xin-Fu and Yu with the wanted poster, asking people around.

* * *

 _The Desert_

"What are you doing in our land with a Sandbender sailor?" The leader asked. "From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hommy Tribe. And it seems you even have demons with you."

"Demons?" Raph angrily questioned.

Katara put her hand in front of Raph. "There not demons, they're… wayward spirits. They mean you no harm."

"And we didn't steal this sailor." Leo added. "We found it buried in the middle of the desert, we're traveling with the Avatar." The Sandbender leader looked surprised.

"Our Sky-Bison was stolen, and we need to get out of this desert and to Ba-Sing-Se." Don said as well.

"You dare accuse our people of theft while you ride in on a stolen sand sailor?!" A young Sandbender questioned. Toph and Mikey eyed this young Sandbender.

"Watch it kid." Raph warned. "I'm in a bad mood as it is, you do not want to test me."

The young Sandbender glared before the leader stopped him. "That's enough Gashwin! No one accused our people of anything. If what they say is true, we must give them hospitality."

"Sorry father."

Toph's eyes widened. "I recognize the son's voice. He's the one who stole Appa."

"Are you sure?" Katara asked.

"She's right." Mikey added. He remembered when Appa was stolen, how he threw a shuriken at one Sandbender and it cut his mask revealing his face. Mikey even saw the exact same cut. "I saw his face, he's the guy alright."

That was all Aang needed to hear. "You stole Appa!" He stomped forward, staff-at-the-ready. "Where is he?! What did you do to him!?

"They're lying!" The son quickly said. " _They're_ the thieves!"

Aang used his staff to send an air-wave forward that destroyed a sand sailor; even Raph looked somewhat surprised at that.

"Where is my bison!?" Aang demanded.

* * *

Back in town, a man left the flower whip with two large flowerpots on a dolly. Xin-Fu and Yu walked to the shop, Xin-Fu slammed the door open.

"Hey you!" He told the storeowner. "Where are these men?" He showed the wanted poster of Iroh and Zuko "I got a tip that they're in your shop."

"As you can see, no one is here but us." The storeowner replied.

"We know all about your secret backroom." Yu said. "Kick it down." He told Xin-Fu, who ran forward.

"Hey! That room is for flowers only!"

Xin-Fu kicked the door down; only to reveal that the backroom was completely empty, save for a White Lotus tile on the floor. Yu picked it up.

"Some unlucky soul, has an incomplete Pai-Sho set." Yu said before Xin-Fu slapped it away.

"Let's go back to finding the girl." He said, giving up this bounty.

Elsewhere, the dolly continued moved, while Zuko and Iroh are revealed to have hidden in the flowerpots.

* * *

 _Desert_

"You tell me where he is now!" Aang demanded as he bent an airwave to destroy another sand sailor.

"What did you do?" The father Sandbender questioned to his son.

"It wasn't me!" He tried.

"I saw you!" Mikey called. "I saw your face!"

"You said to put a muzzle on him." Toph added.

"You muzzled Appa!?" Aang angrily questioned before his eyes and tattoos glowed white, and he entered the Avatar State. He sent another airwave forward, completely obliterating another sand sailor.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know it belonged to the Avatar!" The frightened son exclaimed.

"Tell me where Appa is!" Aang bellowed in the Avatar State.

"You better say something buddy." Raph advised.

"I traded him, to some merchants." The son revealed. "He's probably in Ba-Sing-Se by now, they we're gonna sell him there." Aang did not like the answer. "Please! We'll escort you out of the desert! We'll help however we can!"

A large and powerful air-sphere surrounded Aang as his rage took control, creating a sand cyclone.

"Just get out of here! Now!" Sokka said as he, Toph, Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey ran forward to get the Sandbenders back.

The Turtles stood firm as they saw Aang in the Avatar State.

"Aang! Listen!" Leo called out. "Calm down! This isn't helping anything!" He didn't seem to listen. "Guys." Leo turned to his brothers. "If he can't listen, do whatever it takes."

They all nodded as each of the Turtles drew their respective weapons, preparing for the worst.

Aang slowly rose in his Air-Sphere, with a face that looked like he was ready to unleash hell. A hand gripped his arm, and he turned to see Katara giving him a look of sympathy. She brought him down before pulling him into a hug. The Turtles looked in surprise as the storm began to die down.

Tears welled up in both their eyes as the storm vanished and Aang's tattoos vanished.

The Turtles lowered their weapons.

* * *

Azula, Ty-Lee, and Mai we're surrounded by the many Foot Ninja, including the Foot Elite. Azula and Mai shot glares while Ty-Lee looked frightened. She looked towards one of the Foot Elite.

"Nice hats." She complemented, but the Foot Elite glared at her, causing her to be silent.

Meanwhile; Shredder, Stockman, Karai, and Hun we're discussing what they had learned from Azula. This world is comprised of Four Nations where some people are capable of bending one of the four elements. One person in particular, born every generation, could bend all four elements at once and acted as the guardian of this world. Currently, this world is in the midst of a hundred-year-long war, one where one nation, the Air Nomads have been whipped out while the Fire Nation is striving for world domination, and the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom are struggling to hold them back. The current Avatar, a boy named Aang, has allied himself with the Turtles.

"This is quite an interesting world we've entered." Karai said.

Hun gave an amused smile. "I kinda like this Fire Nation, I admire their ruthlessness, not unlike the Foot."

"Still this world is quite primitive." Stockman mused. "But I'd be curious as to see what this 'bending' has in store."

"Well Father? What do you think?" Karai asked.

"The Turtles are here." Shredder began. "And even if they weren't, it's obvious this Avatar would pose a threat to my plans, he must be eliminated. I do see your point earlier though Karai, since the Turtles have made allies on this planet, we should do the same. And this Fire Lord character seems quite ruthless, the Fire Nation could be of great used to me."

Shredder approached his ninja, who all bowed down before him, and he approached the three Fire Nation girls. Ty-Lee hid behind Azula and Mai, while the two tried to muster up glares towards him.

"Your nation has made very dangerous enemies." Shredder said.

"Those Turtles?" Azula mused. "But there's only four of them."

"Do not underestimate them." Shredder told her. "Even without the Avatar's aid, they are fully capable of bringing down your empire; they have brought down many before, with much more advanced power."

"So what do you want then?" Mai asked.

"We share common enemies." Shredder replied. "And what's the old saying? Ah yes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"You wish to ally yourself with us?" Azula guessed.

"That is correct, dear princess. We wield unimaginable power, and great advancements in technology. We will help you in your quest to conquer this backwater world, and in return, you will help us to eliminate those Turtles. I believe that sounds fair, yes?"

Azula looked towards Mai and Ty-Lee before looking down in thought. She looked to him with an answer. "Alright, I agree to your alliance."

"Excellent." Shredder said as he turned around.

"However, if we are going to be working together, I believe a name would be in order." Azula said.

"We are the Foot. I am it's master, Oroku Saki. I am The Shredder."

 **Duh duh duh! This isn't good. Bad guy alliances. Thanks so much for your patience, I hope this chapter is to your liking.**

 **Again, I have finals coming up so it will be a bit of a wait till the next update. Thank you.**


	5. The Serpent's Pass

**Hello everyone. I'm sorry for the wait, I had finals to take care of. But now summer has begun for me. So expect a few more updates a bit more quickly now. Now let's continue with Worlds Collide.**

 **The Serpent's Pass**

The group of heroes had finally made it out of the dessert and we're taking some well deserved cool-time near a lake and a waterfall. With what they went through in the scorching desert, some water time would do them a world of good.

Don and Sokka we're looking over a map of where to go, with Momo peering over Sokka's shoulder. Toph was sitting on a rock, kicking some water with Raph sitting next to her. Leo was sitting in a meditative position right under the waterfall. Aang was floating in the water before quickly sinking and encasing himself in the ice-block. Katara and Mikey we're currently at the top of a ledge, but not for long.

"Waterbending Bomb!"

"COWABUNGA!"

They both shouted as they jumped with their own cannon balls straight into the water. The result was a massive splash that pretty much sent water flying everywhere, and even the ice-encased Aang out of the water, the ice broke on impact. Aang, Mikey, Katara, and Toph all laughed, where as Leo, Raph, and Don all bore amused smiles.

Sokka however, was not amused. "Sure, five-thousand-year-old maps from the Spirit Library. Just splash some water on them."

"Sorry." Katara lightly apologized as she got out.

"Man, you're brother's an even bigger kill-joy than Raph." Mikey joked, resulting in Katara snickering as she bent the water out of the map.

"Alright Don, did you and Sokka find out what our next move is?" Leo asked.

Sokka and Don showed the map to Leo, Aang, Katara, Mikey, Toph, and Raph as they got together.

"Alright, we just left Wong-Shi-Tong's desert which is here." Don pointed to a part on the map. "Ba-Sing-Se is approximately thirty six miles north of where we are."

"And it looks like the only passage connecting the North and the South is this slither of land called 'The Serpent's Pass'." Sokka added.

"Serpent's Pass huh?" Mikey questioned. "Sounds like our kind of place." He said almost excitedly.

"You sure it's the best way to go?" Toph asked.

"It's the only way." Sokka replied.

"And besides, it's not like we have that fur-ball to fly us there." Raph said, resulting in an elbow from Katara.

"Shush up about Appa." Katara lightly scolded. "I know you're not the sentimental type, but can you at least try to be sensitive."

The whole group looked to Aang, who strangely wasn't affected by Raph's comment. "Katara, it's okay. I know I was upset about loosing Appa before, but I just want to focus on getting to Ba-Sing-Se, and telling the Earth King about the Solar Eclipse."

The group, Leo and Katara especially, we're quite surprised at how calm Aang was. "Oh, okay. Well, I'm glad you're doing better." Katara said.

Leo however wasn't fooled; he knew Aang was still far from better.

Toph quickly sensed something. "Hey guys, we got people incoming. Raph you and the others might wanna cover up, like now."

"Thanks kid." Raph replied before he and the other Turtles quickly threw on their hooded robes to conceal their appearances just in time for three individuals; a man, a pregnant woman, and a young teenage girl, to arrive.

"Hello there fellow refugees." The man called out.

After a few minutes, the group learned the man's name was Than, his wife was Ying, and the teenager was Lian. Thankfully they didn't see the Turtle's faces underneath their robes.

"Are you heading to Ba-Sing-Se as well?" Leo asked.

"Sure are." Than answered. "We're trying to get there before my wife Ying has her baby."

"Great, we can travel through the Serpent's Pass together." Katara said.

Than, Ying, and Lian had looks of terror plastered over their faces. "The Serpent's Pass?!" Ying gasped. "Only the truly desperate take that deadly route!"

"Deadly route." Toph punched Sokka in the arm. "Great pick Sokka."

"I'm actually starting to like that path now." Raph said with an amused smile.

"I'm not." Mikey shivered, regretting his previous excitement.

"But we _are_ desperate." Sokka defended.

"You should come with us to Full-Moon-Bay." Than advised. "Ferries take Refuges across the lake. It's the fastest way to Ba-Sing-Se."

"And it's hidden, so the Fire Nation can't find it." Ying added.

Katara looked as though she we're pondering. "Hmm. Peaceful ferry ride, or deadly pass."

"Gee, tough call." Don said sarcastically, resulting in Sokka sulking.

* * *

 _Full Moon Bay_

Earthbender Guards had opened a hole in the wall so that the Gaang, the concealed Turtles, and the refugees could enter into the bay. Once they we're inside, most we're taken aback by how crowded it was and the run-down conditions of it.

"Oh man." Mikey breathed.

"I can't believe how many people's lives have been uprooted by the Fire Nation." Katara stated.

"These are the effects of war, people on both sides loose their homes, and that's if they're lucky." Leo said.

"We're all looking for a better life, safe behind the walls of Ba-Sing-Se." Than said.

"Well if you ask me, I'd much rather storm that country and pound that Fire Lord prick so deep in the ground that he'd think he we're a fossil." Raph angrily growled as he punched his left fist into his right palm.

* * *

One ferry was already on the lake; this one carried two individuals that we're also heading to Ba-Sing-Se.

"Who would have thought after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace…" Iroh began to laminate before flashing a hat with a flower on it and putting a smile on. "…as a tourist!"

"Look around." Zuko told him as he leaned against the railing overlooking the lake. "We're not tourists, we're refugees." He took a sip of the food in his bowl before spitting it out. "I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt. I'm tired of living like this!"

"Aren't' we all."

The voice came from a certain individual with a straw of hey in his mouth. "My name's Jet and these are my Freedom Fighters: Smellerbee, and Long Shot."

"Hey." Smellerbee greeted as Long Shot nodded.

"Hello." Zuko greeted back.

"Here's the deal." Jet began. "I hear the captain's eating like a king while us refugees have to feed off his scraps. Doesn't seem fair does it?"

"What sort of king is he eating like?" Iroh asked.

"The fat-happy kind." Jet answered, resulting in Iroh comically drooling. "You want to help us 'liberate' some food?"

Zuko looked towards the bowl that had the rotten food in it before throwing it off the ship. "I'm in."

Jet smiled in response.

* * *

 _Full Moon Bay_

A middle-aged woman sat at the ticket counter. "I told you already, no vegetables on the ferry!" She told a certain vender. "One cabbage-slug could destroy the entire eco-system of Ba-Sing-Se! Security!"

The vender looked in terror at a platypus-bear wearing a guard's uniform completely destroy the cabbage.

"AH! MY CABBAGES!"

The guards dragged him away, as he passed the heroes they couldn't help but look with wide eyes.

"And I thought subway guys we're strict." Don said.

"Next!"

Leo and Aang both walked up. "Um, eight tickets for the ferry to Ba-Sing-Se please." Aang said.

"Passport."

"Uh… No one told us we had to have passports." Aang replied.

"Don't you know who this is?" Leo asked the ticket-lady. "This is the Avatar."

The lady wasn't entirely convinced. "I see fifty Avatars a day. And by the way, not a very impressive costume." She gestured to a group of very poorly dressed 'Avatars'. "Besides, four in your company have concealed faces, most suspicious." She eyed them.

Sokka quickly thought of an excuse. "Their all… uh… quadruplets! Who we're born with…. A serious deformity… you do not want them to take off their hoods."

She saw Momo on Aang's shoulder. "No animals allowed either. Do I need to call security?"

They looked to the plateaus-bear who crushed a cabage in it's jaw, resulting in Momo cowering closer to Aang.

"That will not be necessary." Leo dragged Aang back to the group. "Looks like the Ferry's out."

"So what? We just swim there?" Raph guessed.

"Let me handle this." Toph said as she stepped up front. She presented her passport up on the desk. "My name is Toph Beifong and I'll need eight tickets."

The lady looked completely surprised. "The golden seal of the flying boar!" She made a bowing gesture with wide arms. "It is my pleasure to help anyone of the Beifong family."

"It _is_ your pleasure." Toph said. "As you can see, I am blind and these three imbeciles are my vales." She gestured to Aang, Sokka, and Katara who clung to each other with wide smiles. "The four men in the robes are my body guards and must keep their identities a secret." Toph gestured to the hooded Turtles who just bore stoic looks; Raph crossed his arms to look more serious.

"But the animal…"

"Is my seeing-eye-lemur." Toph quickly said as Momo hopped onto her shoulder.

"Well, normally it's only one ticket per passport, but this document is so official… I guess it's worth eight tickets." She stamped eight tickets before Toph took them.

"Thank you very much." Toph replied.

The group then began to walk away.

"Nice work Toph, quick thinking." Leo congratulated.

"Guess being rich has it's benefits, huh?" Don guessed.

"Course you could have just pounded her." Raph joked with an amused smile as he pated Toph's had, causing her to smile a bit.

"But the important thing is we scammed that lady good!" Sokka gloated before a teenage girl in a guard uniform pulled Sokka away.

"Uh guys, I think we're busted." Mikey said as all they looked towards the scene.

"Tickets and passports please." The young woman demanded.

"Is there a problem?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah, I got a problem with you." She began. "I've seen your type before; probably sarcastic, think you're hilarious, and let me guess, you're traveling with the Avatar."

Sokka had a questionable look. "Do I know you?"

She seized Sokka by the collar. "You mean you don't remember? Then maybe you remember this!" She kissed Sokka on the cheek, causing Raph and Mikey to both look in surprise.

Sokka realized who it was. "Suki!" He cheered as the two hugged.

"Sokka! It's good to see you!"

* * *

The group we're now in a balcony catching up.

"So this is the Kyoshi Warrior we heard so much about." Leo said.

"That's her." Katara confirmed. "You look so different without your makeup, and the new outfit."

"That crabby lady makes all the security guards wear them." Suki replied. "And look at you sleeveless-guy, been working out?"

Sokka flexed his 'muscles'. "Eh I'll grab a tree-branch and do a few chin-touches every now-and-then, nothing major." Raph and Katara rolled their eyes in response.

"I see you guys made quite a lot of new friends." Suki looked to the four-robed individuals. "Nice to meet all of you."

"Nice to meet you to, I'm Leonardo and these are my brothers."

"Raphael."

"Donatello."

"I'm Mikey, the fun one"

"Are the other Kyoshi Warriors around?" Aang asked.

"Yeah." Suki answered. "After you left Kyoshi we wanted to help people, we escorted refugees and we've been here ever since." Momo jumped up towards her and she giggled. "Hi Momo, good to see you to." She scratched his ear as he purred. "So why are you guys getting tickets for the ferry, wouldn't you just fly across on Appa."

The group all looked down at that.

"Yeah… about that." Don began.

"Appa is missing." Katara finished.

"That's right, he taken and we heard he was sold in Ba-Sing-Se so we're going to find him." Leo added as Aang looked down.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Suki replied before looking toward Aang. "Are you doing okay?"

Aang looked towards the group, even Raph, as they bore looks of concern. "I'm doing fine! Would everyone stop worrying about me?" He questioned irritatingly, earning a questionable look from Leo.

"Avatar Aang!" Ying called out with Than and Lian. "You have to help us! Someone took all our belongings! Our passports, our tickets, everything's gone!" She began to cry as Than consoled his wife.

"I'll talk to the lady for you." Aang told them.

* * *

"No passports, no tickets!" The lady stamped Aang's head.

"But she's pregnant and all their stuff was stolen! You have to make an exception." Aang stated.

"No exceptions!" The lady sharply said.

"Come on lady, have a heart!" Mikey exclaimed.

"If I just gave tickets willy-nilly to anyone, there would be no more order! And you know what that means: No more civilization!"

"What if we gave them our tickets?" Aang asked.

"No!"

"Can we pay for the tickets?" Mikey tried.

"NO!"

"But…" Aang and Mikey both tried.

"NEXT!" She spat as spit actually got in their faces.

Mikey and Aang walked back to the group. "Sorry guys." Mikey apologized to the family.

"Don't worry, you'll get to the city safely, I'll lead you through the Serpent's Pass." Aang stated.

No one could tell, but Raph had a sly grin on his face.

* * *

A few minutes later, the group then began to make their way out of the bay.

"I can't believe we gave up our tickets and now we're going through the Serpent's Pass." Sokka complained.

"I can't believe you're still complaining about it." Toph said.

"Yeah come on kid, toughen up." Raph stated.

"I'm coming to!" Suki said as she ran up, dressed in her Kyoshi Warrior outfit.

The Turtles looked with smiles.

"Guess we got a new addition to the team." Don observed.

"Well the more the merrier." Leo said.

"I'm eager to see what this Kyoshi-Warrior-lady can do." Raph eagerly said.

"Not to mention she looks pretty cool in that she-samurai outfit." Mikey said. But Sokka wasn't as excited.

"Are you sure that such a good idea?"

"Sokka, I thought you'd want me to come." Suki said.

"Yeah come on Sokka, let her join up, she wants to help." Mikey said

"Well, it's just…"

"Just what?" Suki questioned.

"Nothing, I'm glad you're coming." Sokka said as Suki walked towards the rest of the group, but Sokka looked more concerned something Mikey and Raph both noticed.

* * *

Some time later, the group found themselves just before the gate leading to the Serpent's Pass.

"Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the Serpent's Pass." Leo said.

Sokka looked at the straight pattern it took. "I thought it would be more windy, like a serpent. Hmph, I guessed they misnamed it."

"Something's telling me it's called that for a different reason." Donnie said.

"Hey dudes, there's some writing here." Mikey said as he looked at some writing scratched onto one of the poles of the gate.

Ying walked up to it and read it. "It's awful."

"What's so awful about it?" Mikey asked.

"It says, 'abandon hope.' Katara read.

"Abandon all hope ye who enter here." Don quoted, resulting in everyone looking at him. "It's from the epic Dante's Inferno. It's the last words one hears before entering the Gates of Hell."

"Thanks for the lecture." Toph thanked sarcastically.

"How can we abandon hope, it's all we have?" Ying questioned as she buried her head in her husband's shoulder.

Raph rolled his eyes before walking forward. He took out one of his sais and crossed out the writing with it. "That's total garbage. Who ever wrote that is a coward who gave up. I ain't giving up."

"But what if there's some kind of monster there?" Mikey asked.

"I certainly hope there is." Raph said with an eager smile. "Any monster blocks our path…" he twirled both his sais. "I'll give him a very sweet ass-kicking."

Toph smiled at that while Aang wasn't too convinced. "There is nothing to enjoy about fighting."

"You're doing it wrong then." Raph told Aang.

"Come on people, we're burning day light, let's move." Leo stated as he led the group up the Serpent's Pass. Once they we're on and walking, Leo turned to his brothers and friends. "Raph, Don, Mikey; you guys hang with that family and make sure they do okay, if there's anything out here, do what you have to."

"You got it bro." Mikey said with thumbs up as the hooded turtles stuck near Than, Ying, and Lian.

Leo walked closer to Aang. "I think that writing actually meant something." Aang said, referring to the warning Raph crossed out earlier.

"What are you talking about?"

"The monks used to say that hope is just a distraction, so maybe we do need to abandon it." Aang said.

"Are you talking about crossing this pass, or are you talking about finding Appa?" Leo questioned, having a good idea what Aang's talking about.

"Hope isn't going to help us find him."

"Aang look, I know loosing Appa was hard, and I can understand exactly how you feel. I lost Master Splinter once." Leo told him. "But if you just abandon hope all together, you're pretty much doing the equivalent of abandoning Appa to."

"We need to focus on the task at hand, and that's getting across this pass." Aang said, trying to avoid the subject.

Leo sighed. "Alright, but just remember this. Closing yourself off from feeling won't help anyone, least of all yourself."

Aang simply walked ahead while Leo bore a look of concern. Katara also looked towards Aang with concern as she heard the whole thing.

* * *

Within an hour or two, the group found themselves walking along the side of the pass, close towards the edge that led to the water below. Mikey looked towards the water and spotted something.

"Hey, is that a Fire Nation ship?"

"Yeah." Suki replied. "The Fire Nation controls the Western Lake. Rumor has it that they're working on something big on the other side and they don't want anyone to find out what it is."

"Some kind of super weapon I'm guessing." Don guessed.

"Well bring it on." Raph stated. "Send them all our way, Toph and I will turn them into scrap." He and Toph both fist-bumped at that.

"And there's also another rumor going around." Suki began. "No one has any confirmation as of yet, but there is some talk about the Fire Nation gaining some kind of new partner that's helping them, giving them more advanced weaponry."

"Someone's helping the Fire Nation?" Sokka questioned.

"Who would _want_ to work with them?!" Katara questioned as well.

"I don't know." Suki replied. "No one's seen or heard anything yet, like I said their just rumors. But I will say this, if anyone is helping them, they're keeping themselves completely in the shadows."

The concealed Turtles looked to each other with concern. Mikey walked a bit close to Leo for a small whisper… _"You don't think that…?"_

 _"Let's hope not."_ Leo whispered back.

Leo remembered how they got to this world in the first place, and who else was trying to get there. The Fire Nation is dangerous, but not nearly as dangerous as… him. These we're just rumors so there is no guarantee, but if it really is, then things are about to get much worse for this whole world.

They kept walking, picking up their pace a little faster. So long as no sudden moves we're made they could slip by unnoticed. This was dashed away as Than walked on an unstable rock, which gave way. Toph was quick enough to create a stone-platform for him to land where he was brought back up and helped by Yin and Lian.

"I'm okay!" He said with a reassuring smile.

The rocks tumbled alongside the side of the pass, alerting the Fire Nation ship to their presence.

"They spotted us!" Sokka exclaimed.

"RUN!" Leo yelled as well as a fireball was sent towards them.

Aang jumped off the cliff and used Airbending in his staff to knock the fireball back to the ship and to the engine area, causing quite a bit of damage to the vessel. Another fireball was launched, which hit the wall above them, causing a bit of a rockslide. Mikey was sent flying along the side by a shockwave, Suki went to see if he was okay but rocks we're quickly coming towards her, thankfully Sokka pushed her out of the way. The rocks we're now heading towards Sokka but Toph created an Earth-slab to shield him from the rocks.

Sokka went to Suki. "Suki are you okay?! You have to be more careful! Come on!" He grabbed her hand and began running past Toph

"'Thanks for saving my life Toph.' 'Hey no problem Sokka'" She muttered to herself.

The group was able to get to safety behind cover. Once they caught their breaths, Raph helped Mikey up.

"You okay bro?"

"I'll live but…" Mikey turned around and saw Suki, Than, Ying, and Lian look at him with wide, circular eyes, he realized that he had his hood down and they could see his face. "Um… this is awkward."

"Wha…what are you…?" Ying breathed and look as though she was about to faint.

"Well, you see we uh…" Leo tried as he, Don, and Raph lowered there hoods to reveal their faces as well. "We're not from around here."

"I can vouch for them." Aang quickly said. "There warriors, warriors from the Spirit World here to help us. I assure you, you can trust them."

This earned a sigh of relief from the family. "Our great apologies, sprit-warriors." Than said with a bow, trying to be more respectful.

"Eh don't worry about it, we've been called worse." Raph assured.

"Sokka…" Suki began as she looked towards him.

"It's a long story, I'll explain later."

* * *

 _Later that evening_

The group had found a place to camp for the night. Suki was setting her place near the edge of the cliff, but Sokka had thoughts against it.

"Suki, you shouldn't sleep there." He took the sleeping bag from her. "Who knows how dangerous this ledge is, it could give way at any moment."

"Sokka I'm fine! Stop worrying!" Suki exclaimed.

"Yeah, didn't you yourself tell us how awesome this lady is?" Mikey questioned.

"I know, I know." Sokka said as he set her bag down on a place he believed to be safe. "She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself. WAIT!" He stopped her from getting close. "Oh never mind, I thought I saw a spider but you're fine."

"Smooth. Like sandpaper" Raph commented while shaking his head.

* * *

 _Ferry_

A guard was patrolling the upper level to the kitchen. Once he was gone; Zuko, Jet, and Smellerbee quietly snuck up the stairs and to the kitchen. Zuko looked to the door and saw it was clear before nodding to Jet. The two snuck to the door while Smellerbee kept watch.

Jet used his hook-swords to break the lock where the two came in quickly and quietly. Jet used his hook-sword to cut the strings of the hanging chickens and caught them all swiftly in the bag. Zuko used his own swords to stack up the bowls almost gracefully before tying them together in a string, something that impressed Jet. Once all the food was in the bag, they heard Smellerbee whisper the guard was coming back.

All three ran to the edge, where Long Shot sent a stringed arrow to the upper level from down below. They all slid down the rope with their cargo before the rope pulled out the arrow without anyone noticing. They had succeeded in their mission.

* * *

Aang stood near the edge of the cliff, looking straight out into the sky with an emotionless expression on his face. Katara walked up towards him.

"You know it's okay to miss Appa." She said, but didn't get a response. "What's going on with you, in the dessert all you cared about was finding Appa and now it's like you don't care about him at all."

"You saw what I did back there." Aang said. "I was so focused on finding Appa that I completely abandoned all of you, Raph was right. I left you all hanging out there when you needed me. And what's worse is that I was so angry that I couldn't control myself. I hated feeling like that."

"Look, Raph may have been a bit out of line, but we we're all in a difficult situation, and most of us didn't handle it to well. But right now you're not letting yourself feel anything." Katara continued. "I know sometimes it hurts more the hope and it hurts more to care. But you have to promise me you won't stop caring." She gave a small smile and opened up her arms. "Come on, you need a hug."

"Thank you for your concern Katara." Aang said as he made a bowing gesture and walked away, leaving a very concerned Katara.

"It must be hard." She turned to see Leo walking up towards her. "To see the people you care about like that. You really care about him don't you?"

"His home was completely destroyed, Aang didn't have anyone else to go to. He had no home and no family." Katara explained with sympathy evident in her voice.

"I know exactly how that feels." Leo began. "Due to our… appearance… we don't have many people who are on a friendly basis with us. Granted we know a few, but most of our friends are mutants or aliens, and even then the people we hang out with aren't quite 'normal' in a way. We're outsiders, and us outsiders stick together because we have no one else, I guess in a way that sort of makes us like a family with each other."

"Wow." Katara breathed, not knowing what to say. "That…that's almost just like us. I guess in a way, we're outsiders ourselves. Probably why we get along so well."

Leo smiled as he put a hand on Katara's shoulder. "Aang will come around, sometimes you just gotta have a little faith."

Katara smiled towards Leo who smiled back.

* * *

Sokka sat ontop of the rock, looking towards the moon. Suki walked up next to him.

"It's a beautiful moon."

"Yeah it really is."

Suki sat next to him. "You're new friends, they're not really spirits, are they?"

"It's a little more complicated than that, I'll explain the details later." Sokka told her.

Suki sighed a bit. "Look, I know you're just trying to help but I can take care of myself."

"I know you can."

"Then why are you acting so over protective?" She asked.

"It's so hard to loose someone you care about." Sokka began. "Something happened at the North Pole and I couldn't protect someone. I don't want anything like that to ever happen again."

"I lost someone I cared about. He didn't die, he just went away." Suki began with a small smile. "He didn't die, he just went away. I only had a few days to get to know him but he was smart, and brave, and funny…"

"Who is this guy? Is he taller than me?" Sokka questioned.

"No, he's about your height."

"Is he better looking?"

"It is you stupid." Suki joked.

"Oh…" He got it with a bit of a smile. They we're very close and it looked like they we're about to kiss, but Sokka pulled back a bit. "I can't"

"I'm sorry." Suki apologized.

"No, you shouldn't be." Sokka said before he walked away. He soon crossed paths with Don, Raph, and Mikey all leaning against the wall.

"Man, you really _are_ an idiot, ain't ya pony-tail?" Raph said.

"Not in the mood." Sokka said not even turning to Raph.

"You told us about Yue, remember?" Don recalled, and Sokka nodded a bit. "So we understand, and we also know a thing or two about loosing someone close."

"Dude, Sokka." Mikey said. "Sometimes, live does take a lot from people, us included. But it also gives once and a while; and sometimes, don't give it back, just take it and enjoy it."

"He's right." Raph agreed. "Just go for it, you'd be surprised at what that can do for ya."

Sokka gave a slight smile. "Thanks guys."

* * *

 _Ferry_

Jet was handing out the food he and Zuko 'liberated' to the passengers onboard the ship. Zuko and Iroh sat with Smellerbee and Long Shot, enjoying some of the food.

"So, Smellerbee… that' an unusual name for a young man." Iroh said.

"Maybe it's because I'm not a man, I'm a _girl!_ " Smellerbee exclaimed as she walked away angrily and Zuko face-palmed.

"Oh, now I see! It's a beautiful name for a lovely girl!" Iroh called out.

Long Shot quickly got up and caught up to Smellerbee where he put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a certain look.

"I know." Smellerbee understood. "You're right, as long as I'm confident with who I am, it doesn't matter what other people think. Thanks Long-Shot." The silent archer nodded in response.

Jet sat down near Zuko and Iroh. "From what I heard, people eat like this every night in Ba-Sing-Se. I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall."

"It is a magnificent sight." Iroh complemented.

"So you've been there before?" Jet asked.

"Once, when I was a… different man."

Jet understood a bit of that himself. "I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of. But that's why I'm going to Ba-Sing-Se, for a new beginning, a second chance."

"That's very noble of you." Iroh commended. "I believe people can change their eyes if they want to. I believe in second chances." He finished, giving a glance towards his nephew.

* * *

 _The Next Day, Serpent's Pass_

Early in the morning, Katara explained the details of the Turtles to Suki; about that they we're from another world, which she found quite amazing. She agreed to keep up the whole 'warriors of the Spirit World' thing to better maintain their cover.

The group continued their trek through the Serpent's Pass but soon came across something that made them stop.

"You have got to be kidding." Raph grunted as the group was separated from the other side by the water that covered a large area of the pass.

Katara stepped forward. "Everyone single-file." She began to bend the water away.

"You heard the lady." Don said as the group all began to walk behind Katara in a single-file line with Aang in the back.

"Aang, I need help." Katara stated.

Aang handed Toph his staff and helped to bend the water around the group as they we're completely submerged in the water, providing a large supply of oxygen and a not-so-bad view of the aquatic life below.

"Dude, no aquarium can beat this." Mikey said with a smile.

As they continued to walk, Momo took notice of the fish. He quickly leapt from Toph's shoulder and into the water where he began to swim with the fishes around the bubble; something that made even Raph have an amused grin. Suddenly, a large shadow passed over Momo, causing him to rush back inside and cling to Toph. The group noticed the large shadow loom over them.

"Uh… guys…." Mikey said as they all saw the shadow.

"What is that thing?" Katara questioned.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good." Leo stated.

Something big burst through the bubble, causing water to flow inside and encompass around the group. Toph thought quickly and sent them all straight up with a massive earth-column. A small island emerged from the water, between the points on the pass, carrying all the people and Turtles with it. Toph handed Aang back his staff once they we're up.

Soon, a large green fin began to circle around the island.

"I got a bad feeling about this." Don breathed.

"Good, so it ain't just me." Raph said.

Within two seconds, a massive Sea-Serpent burst out of the water, roaring towards the group.

"HOLY SHELL!" Mikey screamed. "THAT THING IS HUGE!"

"I think I just figured out why they call it 'The Serpent's Pass'!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Thanks for voicing the obvious, lame-brain!" Raph angrily exclaimed.

The Serpent sent another roar towards the group.

"Can't you guys call it off or something?!" Sokka questioned to Don.

"Why would it listen to us?!" Don questioned.

"Well it's a serpent, and you're turtles. You're all reptiles, so maybe it may thing you're a distant cousin or…"

"That is literally the dumbest idea I've ever heard!" Raph angrily stated.

"Hey, you live near a Sea-Monster to, right?" Mikey asked Suki. "Got any tips for this kind of situation?!"

"Just because I live near the Unagi doesn't mean I'm an expert!" Suki stated.

Sokka quickly picked up Momo and handed it towards the serpent. "Oh great and powerful Sea-Serpent, please accept this humble and tasty offering. Thank you!"

"Sokka!" Katara rebuked as Raph smacked Sokka upside the head as well.

The Serpent snarled straight towards them, but Aang sent it back with a powerful air-wave from his staff. "I'll distract it! Katara, get everyone across!" Aang opened his glider and flew straight towards the Sea-Serpent.

Katara froze the surface of the water and made an ice-bridge that extended to the other side where most of the group started running towards.

Once most we're across, Leo saw Aang having trouble with the Serpent. "Katara, Raph, let's give him a hand."

"Right!" They both said at the same time.

Katara made an ice-raft which all three hoped on and Katara soon propelled them towards the Serpent. Once they we're close enough to it's head, Leo and Raph jumped towards it and landed on the forehead of the Serpent, hanging onto it's spiky scales on the head above the eyes. Raph took out one of his sais and impaled it's right eye as Leo did the same with his sword in the left eye, resulting in the Serpent roaring in pain.

Katara rode on her ice-raft along the side of the serpent where she bent a stream of water over its side and froze it. It soon broke out of the ice however.

Most of the group was on the safe side of the pass, save for Toph who was still on the island.

"Toph! Come on! Let's go!" Don yelled.

Toph set a foot on the ice and immediately pulled it back. "Actually, I'm going to stay on my little island where I can see." The Serpent's body hit the island, causing her to jump onto the ice-bride. "Okay, I'm coming!"

"Alright just go straight. You're doing fine!" Mikey stated. "Listen to my voice! Follow it! Follow it like your life depends on it!"

"My life kinda does depend on it!" Toph called back.

Toph was at the halfway point. "You're almost there!" Sokka told her before the Serpent slammed on the ice, breaking it up, sending Toph screaming into the water.

"Help! I can't swim!"

"I'm coming Toph!" Sokka said as he was about to take off his boot, but Suki already dove in the water, much to Sokka's shock and worry.

Suki swam as fast as she could to Toph who had now sunk into the water. She dove under and quickly pulled Toph up, both gasped for breath.

"Oh Sokka, you saved me!" Toph said before kissing Suki on the cheek.

"Actually, it's me."

"Oh…Well…" Toph gave an embarrassing laugh. "You can go ahead and let me drown now."

"That's some girl you got there." Mikey told Sokka.

Meanwhile; Leo and Raph still hung onto the blinded Serpent as Aang and Katara both ran around the Serpent on the water, creating a whirl pool that spun the serpent.

"Raph! Jump! NOW!" Leo yelled as he and Raph jumped off just as the Serpent's head smashed into the rocks. Leo and Raph both caught onto Aang's glider just as he picked up Katara.

The Serpent had given up now, it already lost it's eye sight and went back into the water. Aang came in on his glider and set down with Leo, Raph, and Katara near the rest of the group as they cheered.

"See? Fighting _is_ fun." Raph told Aang with a grin.

* * *

About an hour or two later, the group had finally made it out of the Serpent's Pass and onto the mainland.

"There's the wall!" Sokka pointed out.

"Finally!" Mikey exclaimed in pure relief.

"Now it's nothing but smooth sailing to Ba-Sing-Se." Sokka said.

Raph face-palmed as soon as he said that. "Three… two… one."

Once the countdown was done, Ying held her belly and ached a bit. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Leo asked.

"The baby's coming!"

"WHAT!?" Mikey and Sokka both yelled at the same time.

"Now!? Can't you hold it in or something!?" Sokka exclaimed.

"Sokka! Mikey! Calm down." Katara said. "I helped Gran-Gran deliver plenty of babies back home."

Mikey comically took Katara by the shoulders. "Look, I get that you helped deliver an Artic-seal or two…" he then began to rapidly shake her. "BUT THIS IS A REAL LIFE… HUMAN…. THING!"

 ***Slap***

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Katara replied. "And it's called a baby, and yes I helped deliver plenty of human babies."

"Don, you've read books on human biology to, right?" Leo asked.

"Uh yeah…?"

"Good, then you're helping Katara." Leo told him, much to his surprise.

"ME!?"

"You're the only one who can." Leo told him.

"And I ain't doing it." Raph stated with his arms crossed.

"Okay… I'll try." He nervously said.

"Alright then." Katara addressed the group. "Aang, Leo, get some rags. Raph, Sokka, Mikey, get some water. Toph, I need you to make an Earth-tent, a big one."

Toph bent a triangular earth room that encased the family. "Suki, Don, come with me." Katara said as they walked inside.

* * *

 _Ferry._

Zuko stood on the docks looking towards the water and Jet walked up next to him.

"You know, once I saw your scar I knew exactly who you are." Jet said, earning a look from Zuko. "You're an outcast, like me. And us outcasts have to stick together; we have to watch each other's backs. Because no one else will."

"I've realized lately, that being on your own isn't always the best path." Zuko said as the two saw the wall of Ba-Sing-Se come into view.

* * *

Ying breathed heavily as Lian and Than held her hands. Katara, Don, and Suki we're in front, but Don was sweating up a storm.

"You doing okay?" Suki asked the purple-clad turtle.

"No. I've read books but I've never done this before!"

"Don't worry, we got this." Katara assured. "Sokka! Mikey! Where's that water?!" She turned back to Ying. "Now get ready to push…" Mikey and Sokka had entered the room. "One, two, three… Push!"

Mikey and Sokka both saw this and fainted while Don looked with circular eyes.

* * *

A few minutes later, a baby's cry was heard. "It's a girl!" Katara announced.

Sokka, Mikey, and Don sat to the side of the earth-tent both whipping the sweat off their faces.

"So, you guys wanna see the baby, are you gonna faint like a bunch of old ladies again?" Toph cracked and Raph chuckled at her comment.

"No, no. I'm good this time." Sokka said.

"Yeah same here." Mikey added as they walked in with Toph. Raph went up to Don.

"You okay braniac?" Raph asked.

"I'm fine, just please, never ask me to do that, again!" Don stated while Raph had an amused smile and helped his brother up. The two entered the tent.

Leo noticed Aang still bore the same expression as he did the last few days. He sighed, as enough was enough.

"Aang, no offense, but take a break from being moppy for a second and come take a look at this." Leo took Aang's arm and the two entered the tent.

Everyone saw the newborn baby girl as it cried a bit.

"She sounds healthy." Toph observed.

"She's beautiful." Katara said.

"It's so squishy-looking." Sokka observed.

"Really? Squishy-looking?" Raph questioned.

Leo smiled at the baby and looked towards Aang who bore his own smile.

"I… I never seen a human baby before." Don said.

"Neither have we." Leo added, referring to the rest of his brothers. "But… you did good Don."

Mikey came close to the baby. "Hey there. Say hi to Uncle Mikey!"

Raph soon pulled him away with an amused grin. "Come on, don't traumatize her."

"What should we name her?" Than asked as he held his wife who held their newborn daughter.

"I want our daughter's name to be unique. I want it to mean something."

Leo noticed how tears of joy fell from Aang's eyes and that made him smile a bit. "I've been going through a really hard time lately, but you've made me… hopeful again."

"I know what I want to name our baby now. 'Hope'" Ying said with a content smile.

"That's a perfect name. Hope." Than agreed with his own smile.

"Yeah, that really is a perfect name." Leo agreed with a nod of approval as he and his brothers all smiled.

* * *

Outside the tent, Aang was with Katara. "I thought I was just trying to be strong, but really I was just running away from my feelings. Seeing this family together, so full of happiness and love, it's reminded me how I feel about Appa. And how I feel about you."

Katara had her own tears of joy fall down her face as the two embraced each other. Leo saw this and gave a nod of approval. Once they broke apart, Aang looked towards the blue-clad Turtle.

"Leo, thanks."

"Hey, what are friends for, right?" Leo replied as the rest of the group came together.

Aang took his glider from Toph. "I promise. I'll find Appa as fast as I can, I just really need to do this."

"We understand." Don assured. "Do what you need to do."

"See you in the big city." Sokka said.

"Say hi to the big fuzz-ball for me." Toph said as she playfully punched Aang in the arm.

"And when you see him, tell him I'm sorry about the Sandbenders." Mikey said as well.

"You'll find him Aang." Katara assured.

"I know, thank you Katara." Aang replied. He then turned to Raph. "Hey Raph?"

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favor, if I ever loose it again like I did in the desert, go ahead and knock some sense into me." Aang said.

Raph smiled. "Sure thing kid." He patted his arrow-head. "Consider it done."

"Good luck Aang." Leo told him with a hand on his shoulder.

Aang then took off on his glider heading straight for Ba-Sing-Se while the group waved off.

Sokka was packing up his stuff when Suki walked up to him. "Sokka, it's been really great to see you again."

Sokka stood up. "Whoa hold on, why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?"

"I came along because I wanted to make sure you got through the Serpent's Pass safely. But now I need to get back to the other Kyoshi Warriors."

"So you came along… to protect _me?_ " Sokka asked with a small smile.

Suki looked away slightly with a blush. "Listen, I'm really sorry about last night. We we're talking and… saying things… I just got carried away and before I knew it I…" She couldn't finish as Sokka pressed his lips against hers.

"You talk too much." The two then embraced each other while sharing a passionate kiss.

Raph looked on with a smile and nod of approval "Not bad Sokka, not bad."

* * *

Aang had made it to the outer wall of Ba-Sing-Se and sailed up the massive wall with Momo right behind him. Once they set on top they looked towards the city, but when Aang glanced to the side he saw something that made him gasp with wide eyes.

A massive and long metal drill, with a Fire Nation insignia on it, and multiple Fire Nation tanks, we're headed straight for the wall.

Aang sunk his head in defeat. "Sorry Momo. Appa's gonna have to wait."

 **Done.**

 **Thank you for being so patient with me. I hope this chapter is too your liking, and be ready for more to come soon.**


	6. The Drill

**Hello everyone. Once again thank you for your patience. To all mothers out there, happy late-mother's day.**

 **Now, let's get started. I own neither Avatar, nor Ninja Turtles**

 **The Drill**

The massive metal drill slowly continued it's way to the Outer Wall of Ba-Sing-Se, with a multitude of Fire Nation tanks guarding it, not that it needed any considering it's massive size. As the drill continued it's slow march, an observation tower rose from the haul of the drill. The tower's occupants consisted of many Fire Nation and Foot technicians at the controls; Princess Azula and her sidekicks, Mai and Ty-Lee, in throne-like chairs; Hun, who stood in the corner with his arms crossed; and finally Baxter Stockman.

"This drill was once a primitive hunk of metal." Stockman began. "However, thanks to my geniuses, it has evolved into a true weapon of mass destruction! There is no force that can possibly alter its course as it will not only plow through that wall like tissue paper, but mow that entire city to the ground! And it's all thanks to the sheer brilliance of Doctor Baxter Stockman!" He exclaimed with maniacal and prideful glee.

Ty-Lee was first to speak up. "But what about those muscly-guys down there?" She asked as she looked through a periscope and spotted a small army of Earthbenders amassing just below the wall.

"Oh please." Hun spoke up. "Have you seen this drill? What are a couple of punks with rocks gonna do other than cause a few dents?"

"Oh I'm sure that may be the case Hun." Azula said. "But just to be on the safe side… Mai and Ty-Lee, take the Earthbenders out!"

"Finally, something to do." Mai said in a sighing kind of fashion.

However, before either of them could get up, Stockman raised his robotic hand. "Actually that will not be necessary. Those primitives won't make it past the drill's defenses."

"What defenses exactly, Dr. Stockman?" Azula asked.

"You'll see." Stockman replied with an eager grin.

* * *

Meanwhile; Leo, Katara, Raph, Toph, Don, Sokka, Mikey, and the family they have been escorting we're nearing the wall, when Aang flew in on his glider with Momo close behind.

"Aang?" Leo asked. "What's going on? Weren't you looking for Appa?"

"I was, but something stopped me, something big."

The group was now at the wall and we're riding straight up the wall's surface on an earth-platform, which was being elevated by Toph and Aang.

"Now what's so big that Appa has to wait?" Sokka asked as they ascended the wall.

"Uh… I'm gonna guess that." Don said as he pointed outward and they all saw what Aang was talking about.

Once they got on top of the wall, they could all see it. "Is that… a giant metal drill?" Mikey questioned.

"Looks like we found the Fire Nation's secret weapon." Leo stated.

"They're industrious little monkeys, I'll give em that." Raph said.

"We made it to Ba-Sing-Se and we're still not safe, no one is." Ying stated in despair as she held her baby daughter, but was soon consoled by her husband.

"What are you people doing here?" An Earth Kingdom soldier questioned the group. "Civilians aren't allowed on the wall."

"I'm the Avatar." Aang spoke up. "Take me to whoever's in charge."

* * *

Some time later, Ying and her family we're escorted to safety. Aang explained the appearance of his reptilian friends to the soldiers that they we're spirit warriors sent to help them. The group had now meant the commanding officer in charge.

"It is an honor to welcome you to the Outer Wall, young Avatar." General Sung greeted. "But you're help is not needed."

"'Not needed'?!" Aang and Leo questioned at the same time.

"Not needed." Sung confirmed. "I have the situation under control."

"'Under control?' Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?" Raph questioned. "You do realize there's a mile long drill down there, right?"

"I assure you, the Fire Nation cannot penetrate this wall." Sung assured as he and the group got outside. "Many have tried, but none have succeeded."

"What about the Dragon of the West? He got in." Toph pointed out.

"Well… technically yes… but he was quickly expunged!" Sung stated, but Raph, Don, Sokka, and Toph weren't convinced.

"I doubt that guy had something like that with him though." Mikey said, pointing out to the drill.

"Nevertheless." Sung continued. "The city is named Ba-Sing-Se, it means the Impenetrable City. They don't call it _Na_ -Sing-Se." He chuckled a bit. "That means _Penetrable_ City."

"Yeah, thanks for the history lesson." Raph said sarcastically. "But in case you forgot, there's a giant metal drill down there, and metal often beats rock."

"Not for long." Sung assured. "To stop it, I sent an elite platoon of Earthbenders called the Terra-Team."

"That's a good group name, very catchy." Sokka said.

Raph looked to Don. "I bet those guys don't last ten minutes."

"I bet they won't last _five._ " Don replied.

* * *

Down below, the Terra-Team created multiple earth-waves to plow away the Fire Nation tanks as they soared on the waves and towards the drill.

"Ready, attack!" The Terra-Team sent large earth-pillars up the Drill's side.

* * *

 _Observation Tower_

"Well the Earthbenders are here." Azula observed. "Where are those defenses, Dr. Stockman?"

"Right here." Stockman said as he pressed a button.

* * *

Back outside; a large compartment opened on the side of the drill and at least two-dozen metal spheres rolled out onto the ground. The Earthbenders we're a bit confused at first. But confusion turned into shock as the metal spheres morphed, turning into seven-feet tall Mousers, which roared.

The Mousers charged forward, shooting red lasers from their optics. The Earthbenders created earth-walls, but the walls broke apart from the laser blasts, blowing them all back. The Mousers continued forward.

A few Earthbenders shot rocks out to the Mousers; some simply bashed through them, others bit down on the rocks and shattered them in their jaws. Once they we're close enough the Mousers attacked. They slashed with their bladed-legs, and bit with their massive and strong jaws, completely tearing through the Earthbenders as though they we're made of clay. The Earthbenders didn't stand a chance.

* * *

 _Observation Tower_

"What are those things?" Ty-Lee asked as they all saw the carnage outside from the window.

"Those are my ultimate weapon: The Mousers." Stockman replied.

"'Mousers'?" Mai questioned, not understanding the name.

"They are called that because they are made for one purpose: To exterminate vermin." Stockman replied.

Azula gave an amused smile. "I'm impressed."

Hun walked up towards Stockman. "Aren't those the same Mousers that kid Chaplin designed?"

"Hey, it pays to innovate."

* * *

The remaining Earthbenders we're forced to retreat as the Mousers made quick work of them. General Sung saw all this from the wall via telescope.

"We're doomed!" He exclaimed only to get slapped across the face by Mikey.

"Hey, if there are gonna be any hysterics around here, _I'll_ have em!"

"Yeah, get a hold of yourself!" Sokka added as Sung rubbed his cheek.

"You're right, I'm sorry."

"Maybe you'd like the Avatar's help, now?" Leo asked.

Sung turned towards the Avatar with a bowed-head. "Yes please."

* * *

The group looked towards the massive drill and the Mousers that we're walking alongside it.

"So the question is, how are we gonna stop that thing?" Aang wondered.

Don began to observe it. "Well, the drill is approximately a mile long, and I'm guessing a hundred yards wide; no doubt with a thick exterior metal armor."

"The issue is though, we won't be able to get anywhere with those Mousers guarding it." Leo said as he looked to them via telescope.

"What are Mousers?" Katara asked.

"Giant evil robots that bite things." Mikey replied.

"What's a robot?" Toph asked.

"A machine." Don answered. "Think like giant metal puppets that people control."

"No way the Fire Nation can do that on their own." Leo replied.

"Hang on a minute." Raph said as he took the telescope from Leo. He looked towards the observation tower on the drill and only saw a brief silloutes, but knew who it was because of the metal robotic-body.

"Yep, guess who's here. Our old pall Stockman." Raph said.

"What the shell is Stockman doing here?!" Leo questioned.

"Uh… who's Stockman?" Aang asked.

"Someone you know?" Sokka questioned.

"Dr. Baxter Stockman." Don began. "He's a gifted scientist and engineer from our world, a brilliant technologist; but he's also a certifiable lunatic!"

"Yeah, major whack-job city!" Mikey added, rolling a finger around his head for emphasis.

"I take it you guys have a history." Toph guessed.

"Oh yeah, we and that whack-job have clashed a couple times." Raph replied.

Sokka then recalled something. "Hey, Suki did say the Fire Nation was getting help, maybe it's that Stockman-guy."

"Maybe." Leo guessed. _"But lets just hope it's only him."_

* * *

On the other side of the Outer Wall many refugees, who have taken the ferry across the lake, we're being checked in. One of the check-in stations had two certain men up front.

"So Mr. Lee and Mr. Mushy is it?" The middle-aged woman asked, as she looked at the alias passports of Zuko and Iroh.

"It's pronounced 'Mushi.'" Iroh corrected.

"You telling me how to do my job?" The woman questioned.

"Uh no, no." Iroh said as he walked up. "But may just say you're like a flower in bloom. You're beauty is intoxicating."

The woman gave a flirtatious smile. "Hmm, your pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome." She said with a wink and followed by a cat-like purr. "Welcome to Ba-Sing-Se." She stamped their passports, which Iroh took and handed his to Zuko, who had face-palmed.

"I'm gonna forget I saw that." Zuko said as he took his passport and the two walked into the station. In the middle of the same line; Jet, Smellerbee, and Long-Shot had just watched them enter the station.

"I think Lee would make a good Freedom Fighter." Jet said. "He's just trying to make his way in the world, like us."

"You don't know anything about him Jet." Smellerbee told him.

"I know he didn't get that scar from a Waterbender."

"Besides, I thought we we're going straight now." Smellerbee reminded.

"We are." Jet confirmed. "And the New Freedom Fighters could use a guy like Lee. What do you think Long-Shot?" The silent archer gave a certain look. "I can respect that."

* * *

 _Outer wall_

The surviving Earthbenders we're all being treated in the Infirmary. The Gaang and the Turtles continued to watch the drill as it slowly made its way towards the wall.

"So we got a giant drill, going at a snail's pace towards the wall." Mikey summed up.

"But the problem is, we can't get anywhere near it with those Mousers guarding it." Raph stated.

"Even if we did, this is Stockman we're talking about. Who knows what other surprises he has in store, he's as unpredictable as they come." Leo replied.

"So does anyone have a plan to actually stop that thing?" Aang asked.

"I do." Don stated. "Stockman likes to think his outside is impenetrable, but that's where he slips up. He works so hard on the outside, he can't even think about what's going on _inside_. So that's how we stop him, the old wooden clog in the machine: Sabotage."

"You mean: Break stuff?" Sokka asked with an eager smile.

"Now you're talking words I understand." Raph said with his own eager smile, punching his left fist into his right palm.

"So that's what we'll do." Katara said.

"We'll bring it down from the inside." Aang finished.

* * *

The group was now on the ground, they we're directly in front of the drill.

"How are we gonna get past those Mouser-things?" Katara asked.

"Their optics don't work too well in dust-filled areas." Don replied. "We just need a smokescreen to get past them."

"Leave that to me." Toph said. "Once I whip up some cover, you won't be able to see, so stay close to me." Toph then sent an earth-tremor forward along the right side of the drill, and past the Mousers, creating a large plum of smoke.

"This is it. Everyone stay together, let's move!" Leo ordered as the Turtles and the Gaang ran into the dust cloud. They made sure to move quickly and quietly to avoid getting the attention of the Mousers.

* * *

 _Observation Tower_

Ty-Lee looked through the periscope and saw the dust cloud along the side of the drill. "Hey, look at that dust cloud. It's so… poofy. Poof!"

"I wouldn't worry, probably just those primitives trying another futile attempt to stop us." Stockman said.

Hun and Azula both looked towards each other, they we're both probably thinking of the same thing.

* * *

The heroes moved through the dust-cloud and came close to the drill's side. "Alright, Toph, do your stuff." Leo told her as she made a small crater.

"Everyone into the hole!"

Aang and Leo both jumped in first, followed by Raph and Katara, then Mikey, Sokka, and Don, and finally Toph who closed up the whole behind them, completely incasing the group underground in darkness.

"It's so dark down here, I can't see a thing." Sokka complained.

"Oh no, what a nightmare." Toph sarcastically cried out.

"Sorry."

"Besides, we're ninjas, we like the dark." Mikey pointed out.

A hole opened up on the ground underneath the drill and the group came out.

"That's our way in." Leo pointed to one of the many openings. Leo hopped in, as did Aang, they helped Katara and Sokka get in as Don, Mikey, and Raph jumped, the only one still outside was Toph. "Toph?"

"No way am I going in that metal monster, I can't bend in there! I'll try to slow it down out here." Toph said.

"Okay, good luck." Leo told her.

"Give this drill Shell kid." Raph told her with a smile.

Once the group was inside, Toph made a massive earth-spike and locked it into the wedge of the drill in an effort to slow it down.

* * *

The group was now walking inside one of the hallways of the drill.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Aang asked.

"Our first priority is taking down those Mousers." Don replied.

"Shouldn't it be taking down the drill?" Sokka questioned.

"No, Don's right." Leo said. "Even if we did take down the drill, Stockman would just order his mousers to attack and bring down the wall themselves. And they are more than capable of doing that."

"Yeah, especially after how quick they took down those Earthbenders." Mikey pointed out.

"Exactly." Leo confirmed.

"Okay, so how do we do that?" Katara asked.

"We need to find the remote link to shut them down." Don said.

"Remote link?" Sokka questioned.

"Like I said, these things are like puppets." Don stated. "Think of the remote link as the puppets' strings, we cut the strings, the puppets are useless."

"Then lead the way braniac." Raph said to Don.

Don then looked to find the conducting wire along the ceiling and led the group along the wire's path. After about a few minutes the group came by a staircase and they looked down below to a large chamber, patrolled by technicians. In the center was a large antenna.

"Is that what's controlling the Mouser-things?" Aang asked referring to the antenna.

"Yeah, that's it." Don confirmed.

"Then let's take it down." Sokka said.

"Sokka wait…" Katara tried.

"Come on, we can take these guys; we're Team Avatar!" Sokka proudly said as he stepped forward. He whipped out his boomerang and tossed it. It hit the head of one techie and knocked him out.

Two other techies responded by whipping out long chains and tossing them, they wrapped around Sokka's legs and pulled him down. Leo, Raph, Aang, Mikey, Katara, and Don all jumped down as the techies drew their weapons as well.

Katara got then and drew a water whip; which she used to snap at a techie, knocking him back. One came from behind her and threw a chain, which wrapped around her arms and body, before she was pulled back hard to the wall.

Aang was about to run and help her, but had to duck when one techie pulled out a katana and nearly sliced his head off. Aang made a vertical air-kick to send him flying, but one other techie grabbed his arm and flipped him over hard to a wall.

"These guys… they don't fight like normal Fire Nation." Aang said as he got up and ignored a katana slice from another techie.

"No." Leo agreed as he blocked a slice with his own katana. "They fight like the Foot!" He stated as he sliced the sword out of his enemy's hand and kicked him in the head.

"Wait hold on…" Don said as he blocked a katana with his staff. "You're saying… the Foot trained these flunkies!?" He questioned as he slammed the staff across the man's face, sending him hurtling to the wall.

"Looks like we figured out who the Fire Nation's mystery partner is." Mikey pointed out as he flailed his nunchucks to two incoming techies, knocking them back.

"Yeah, lucky us." Raph said sarcastically as he ran up a wall and jumped down, delivering a split-kick to two enemy heads, knocking them out.

Katara used her water to slice the chains that kept her bound and sent a water-slice to swipe a few off their feet, while Aang sent them into hurtling into the last of the techies, knocking them all out.

"Hey! I didn't get to take any down!" Sokka pointed out.

"Sorry, Sokka." Aang apologized.

"So… 'The Foot'?" Katara questioned.

"Long story, basically an evil clan of Ninjas we've been fighting for a while." Leo explained.

"So there an enemy of yours to?" Aang asked.

"We'll explain the details after we get this thing taken down." Raph stated.

"Okay, Don, hop to it." Mikey said as Don went to the controls of the antenna in the center of the chamber.

Don began to type away at the keyboard. "I think…" He said as he continued to type, the screen changed to an image of a mouser with the words 'active' in green letters shown above it. "Hang on… yes I got it!" the green letters on the screen turned red which red 'shut down'. The antenna sparked a bit with electricity before it shut down.

* * *

Outside, the Mousers continued to walk alongside the massive drill until they each surged with electricity and stopped moving. They lowered their heads as their optics turned black.

* * *

 _Observation Tower._

Ty-Lee saw the Mousers shut down via her periscope. "Aw their taking a nap, that's so cute."

"What?" Stockman questioned as he too the periscope and saw all the Mousers shut down.

"Trouble, Dr. Stockman?" Hun questioned.

"Trouble…? No… no. It's nothing, just a… momentary nuisance." He stuttered as he went to a Foot technician. "Find out what the problem is, get those Mousers back online!" He whispered.

Azula had a look on her face that indicated she had a suspicion of what was really going on.

* * *

Back inside, Sokka took out the blueprints for the drill from a knocked out techie and put them on a console; Aang, Leo, Don, Katara, and Raph looked at it.

"Okay, it looks like the drill has two main components." Sokka began. "There's the inner mechanism where we are now, and the outer shell."

"Right." Don agreed. "Both parts are connected by a series of braces. We cut through them, the whole thing will collapse in on itself."

"Just how are we gonna do that?" Raph asked.

Before anyone could answer, Mikey opened a closet door on the side. "Hey guys, look what I found!" They all walked to what he was talking about and found a series of blocks that had controls and wires attached to them.

"Is that what I think it is?" Raph hoped with an eager smile.

"Yep, it's C-4." Don confirmed.

"What's C-4?" Aang asked.

"Explosives, bombs." Don replied.

"You know what I think?" Leo began. "I think we just found a way to bring this drill down."

* * *

 _Train Station._

Many refugees waited in the station for the train to come so they could ride into Ba-Sing-Se.

Iroh and Zuko sat on a bench; Jet had just sat down next to them. "So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?"

Before anyone could answer, they heard a salesman call out. "Get your hot tea here! Finest Tea in Ba-Sing-Se!" He called out with his wagon.

Iroh waved his hand. "Oh! Jasmine please!"

The salesman poured Iroh a cup of tea before walking away. Iroh took a sip of tea, but regretted it soon after. " _Coldest_ tea in Ba-Sing-Se is more like it. What a disgrace!"

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second." Jet asked Zuko, the two walked up soon after. "You and I have a much better chance of making it out in the city if we stick together. You wanna join the Freedom Fighters?"

"Thanks, but I don't think you want me in your gang." Zuko told him.

"Come on, you and I made a great team looting that Captain's food. Think of all the good we could do for these refugees."

"I said no." Zuko said as he began to walk away.

"Have it your way." Jet replied. He looked in that direction and saw Iroh drinking some hot tea. Jet was surprised considering that Iroh complained about the tea being cold for a few seconds; his eyes went wide when realization set in. Zuko got back to his uncle and saw Jet had a scowl on his face before walking around.

Zuko turned to his uncle and slapped the tea out of his hands. "Hey!" Iroh complained.

"What are you doing Firebending your tea?!" Zuko whispered/scolded. "For a wise old man, that was a pretty stupid move!"

"I know you're not supposed to cry over spilled tea, but…" Iroh sniffled. "It's just so sad." He cried a bit as he saw the tea spilled over the floor.

* * *

 _Inside the Drill_

Leo, Aang, Katara, Raph, Don, Mikey, and Sokka made it to the braces; with Don carrying a large duffle bag over his shoulder, and Sokka holding the schematics.

"Wow. It looks a lot thicker than it does in the plans." Sokka said.

"Not to worry." Don said as he took off the bag and opened it, revealing several blocks of C-4. "Just one block should be able to blow through the brace in no time flat."

"I still doubt a small block of clay can blow through a giant metal brace." Sokka said.

"Just watch and learn Sokka." Raph said. "Never underestimate the power of blowing stuff up."

"You really like blowing stuff up, don't you Raph?" Aang asked.

"Hey, when in doubt, break stuff." Raph replied.

"Yeah, its kinda the whole point of sabotaging." Mikey added.

"Alright Don, get it up." Leo said.

Don reached into the duffle bag and pulled out a block of C-4. He stuck it to the brace and began to work on it.

"How does this C-4 work again?" Katara asked Leo.

"The block is made of a highly explosive material." Leo explained. "The mechanism acts like a small bomb that lights it up and it explodes soon after. The bigger the block, the greater the explosion."

Don had now set the timer. "Alright; twenty seconds till this block explodes! Move!"

The group had ran towards the entrance just as the timer reached zero. A massive explosion engulfed the brace, leaving a cloud of smoke. The group looked towards it as the smoke cleared; Aang and Katara looked with wide eyes, while Sokka's jaw dropped as they saw the lower end of the brace, and parts of the surrounding braces, had been blown clean off.

"Wow. I can't believe something so small could do such damage." Aang breathed.

"Toph is pretty small, and look at the damage she can do." Raph complimented with a proud smile.

"So… now what?" Mikey said. "I mean, it's blown up, so why isn't it coming down?" He asked. The group looked around to see nothing was happening to the interior of the drill.

Soon however, the entire inside began to vibrate, and it sounded like metal was being scrapped against something.

"Do you hear that?" Sokka began. "We took it down! We better get out of here fast!"

The group was about to run out, but Don stopped them. "No wait, that doesn't sound like this place collapsing."

"Then what is it?" Leo asked.

The answer came in the form of Stockman's voice being broadcasted through the loudspeakers throughout the entire drill. _"Attention all crewmen. The drill had made contact with the wall of Ba-Sing-Se. Soon, the entire city will fall!"_

"That." Don answered Leo's question.

The drill had indeed made contact with the wall and had begun to dig its way through. As the drill continued to do it's work, parts of the stone wall we're gathered into parts of the drill, which we're condensed and broken down before flowing into water pipes, creating mud which would flow through the drill and out through the end.

"This is bad, really bad." Katara said.

"No duh." Raph replied.

"We got the C-4, why don't we just blow up the entire drill with it?" Mikey questioned.

"There isn't nearly enough to blast a whole through the drill's wall to lead outside, let alone blow the whole thing up." Don replied.

Aang then thought of something. "Maybe we don't need to break all the way through."

"Say what?" Raph questioned.

"Toph has been teaching me that you shouldn't be giving a hundred of your energy into any one strike." Aang explained.

"That's right." Leo agreed. "Instead of trying to break through one single spot, break _around_ it."

"Be quick and accurate." Aang continued along with Leo. "Hit a series of points to break your opponent's stance…"

"And when he's weakened and reeling back, deliver the final blow, and all his weight becomes his downfall!" Leo finished.

"Literally." Aang added.

"Aw look at you two." Mikey addressed Aang and Leo. "Being all warrior-buddies."

They ignored Mikey's statement. "I see your point." Katara said. "We don't need to take down the _entire_ thing…"

"…Just enough to weaken the drill." Don finished "And when it's weak enough…"

"…Give the final blow and the whole damn thing comes crashing down. Boom!" Raph finished.

"Aw yeah! We totally got this bros! High-Three everyone!" Mikey cheered as the group 'high-fived.'

Don opened the duffle bag all the way, revealing all the blocks of C-4. "Okay, we got enough C-4 to hit the most vital spots." He also took out the schematics. "Each of us takes one block and hits each of these spots…" He pointed to braces on the map. "Remember, the timer is set for twenty seconds. Hit it and run, once it's weakened enough, we'll all meet here on the other side."

"Alright, let's do it!" Raph eagerly exclaimed.

"Everyone inside that wall… the whole World… is counting on us." Aang said.

"The whole world minus the Fire Nation that is." Sokka pointed out, only to get slapped in the back of the head by Raph.

* * *

 _Under the Drill_

Toph struggled with all her might to hold the drill back, but she just seemed to only barley slow it down.

"Come on guys… hurry up…" Toph growled.

* * *

From this point; each of them took a block of C-4. Leo, Raph, Don, Sokka, and Mikey had grappling hooks to get to the brace points; Katara just used her water-whip; Aang jumped with his Airbending.

They each placed a block on the specified brace and pulled the switch. Twenty seconds later, the block went off, taking down the brace point. Small explosions occurred at least seven times all throughout the braces

Outside, at the wall, Earth Kingdom soldiers we're throwing down rocks onto the surface of the drill in an attempt to stop it, but the rocks just bounced off it like raindrops, not doing any damage to it at all.

* * *

 _Observation Tower._

 _"Dr. Stockman!"_ A voice called out on the speakers. _"The tech-team at the Mouser controls we're ambushed! The antenna itself has been damaged, the Mousers have all been shut down!"_

 _"Dr. Stockman!"_ Another voice spoke out. _"A brace on the starboard side has been completely blown up! It's sabotage, sir!"_

Stockman looked very nervous at this. "'A momentary nuisance' huh?" Hun questioned.

Azula had a similar look on her face as Hun. "Let's go ladies." Azula addressed Mai and Ty-Lee as they walked out, with Hun close behind them.

* * *

The group gathered together on the portside brace. "That's it, all the C-4 has been used up." Leo said.

"Good work Team Avatar." Sokka congratulated. "Now we just need to…"

"Somehow I knew you'd be here."

The Turtles recognized that voice as they all turned towards the doorway to the hall, which had a certain man leaning against the archway.

"Hun." Raph growled.

"Whoa! That guy is huge!" Aang exclaimed for emphasis.

Hun stood upright with an eager smile. "Welcome to Ba-Sing-Se freaks. I'll be the host for the duration of your stay, and I'm happy to tell you, you'll be experiencing pain. Lots and lots of pain."

"DUCK!" Leo exclaimed as they all moved to avoid a stream of blue fire sent their way. They all looked up to see whom it came from.

"Well, well, well; if it isn't Princess Nutjob." Raph said as he, Leo, Mikey, and Don drew their respective weapons.

Azula stood with Ty-Lee and Mai by her side.

"Wow Azula, you we're right. It is the Avatar!" Ty-Lee said, sounding excited. "And the Turtles." She said with a bit of a flirtatious look towards a certain orange-clad turtle.

"Hey." Mikey said with a wave towards Ty-Lee with a small smile. "Long time no see."

"I'm not going to lie." Azula began. "I've been looking forward to seeing you four again." She said to the Turtles.

"What? That beat down we gave you last time wasn't enough?" Raph cracked, earning a scowl from Azula.

"We don't have time for this!" Leo exclaimed. "Aang, blow them all away!"

Aang created a massive air-sphere that surrounded himself and all his friends, which quickly expanded and exploded, blowing away Azula and her teammates, as well as the incoming Hun, who almost fell off the brace but gripped on the edge.

Not enough time to duke it out with these guys, The Gaang and the Turtles all ran out to the hallway. Once they got to a fork in the hallway, Leo decided it was best to divide up.

"Raph, Mikey; you take Katara and Sokka and get out of here." Leo instructed. "Don and I will help Aang finish this."

"Got it." Raph replied.

"Aang, take this." Katara threw Aang her water-satchel. "You need this water more than I do."

The group then split up and ran in separate directions just as Hun, Azula, Mai, and Ty-Lee got to the split in the hall.

"Hun, you take Ty-Lee and Mai to handle the others; the Avatar is mine." Azula ordered, only to be picked up by the collar by Hun.

"Listen up you little brat." He said. "I don't take orders from you." He said as he dropped her on her rear. Hun began to walk away but stopped when a stream of blue fire rushed past his face.

"Don't ever touch me, again." Azula warned before running after Aang, Leo, and Don.

Hun scowled before turning down the other end with Mai and Ty-Lee right behind him.

Katara, Mikey, Raph, and Sokka made it to the other side of the wall to a large pipe. Katara looked to a sign just above the pipe.

"'Slurry pipe line'?" Katara read. "What does that mean?" She asked as Raph and Sokka twisted the lid open. They looked inside to see the mud from the wall flowing in one direction.

"What it means is our way out." Raph answered.

"Alright, time for a mud bath!" Mikey cheered as they all jumped down and we're all carried away by the mud. "Cowabunga!" Mikey cheered again as they went down a decline like a water-slide.

Ty-Lee, Hun, and Mai looked down into the pipe just as the four heroes entered. Mai cringed at the sight of it.

"Ugh, disgusting!"

"It's mud, you baby." Hun told her.

"Come on, you all heard what Azula said." Ty-Lee reminded.

"You two should be less worried about failing that brat, and more worried about failing the Master." Hun told them.

"Your boss can try and shred me all he wants, I am not going into that wall-sludge-juice." Mai stated.

Ty-Lee looked to Hun. "Uh… I don't think you'll fit."

Hun then grabbed onto the pipe and used his sheer strength to tear the metal off the top of the pipe, much to the surprise of both Ty-Lee and Mai. He had just made a massive hole for himself with his own bare hands.

"You we're saying?" Hun questioned as he jumped down, and Ty-Lee followed suit.

* * *

Aang, Leo, and Don ran as fast as they could. Aang even used his Airbending to remove the air-resistance around them so it seemed like they we're moving at a super fast pace. Momo also hung onto Aang's shoulder as they ran.

* * *

On the backside of the drill; Katara, Raph, Mikey, and Sokka all fell out with the mud stream and onto the ground outside. Sokka had to spit out the mud as some of it entered his mouth. They all looked up to see Hun and Ty-Lee after them. Katara used her Waterbending to push the mud-stream back into the drill, pinning both Ty-Lee and Hun into it.

"Why don't you try blocking my chi now, Circus Freak!" Katara called out.

"Nothing personal though!" Mikey called out to her.

Hun grimaced before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small concussive grenade. He pulled the pin. A few seconds later, a small explosion had sent him out of the mud and onto the ground in front of the group. Hun got up and cracked his knuckles with a sinister smile. Raph and Mikey drew their weapons in response where as Katara and Sokka both looked worried.

* * *

Leo, Aang, Don, and Momo had made it to the top of the drill. They ran to the end of the metal, close to the wall.

"Right here, this is the spot." Don pointed out.

"Then I'll…" Aang began but was caught off guard by a falling rock. He, Leo, and Don had to dodge a series of falling rocks that we're coming down off the wall.

Leo looked up to the Earth Kingdom soldiers. "General Sung! Tell your men to stand down!"

The soldiers couldn't hear him as they we're too far up, so they continued to pelt rocks down onto the drill.

Leo, Aang, and Don moved to a spot where the rocks didn't hit. Aang immediately got to work, bending the water out of his satchel and began to cut through the metal in an x-formation.

"I'll need time to cut through this." Aang said.

"Don't worry, we got your back." Leo said as he and Don kept the look-out, watching Aang's back.

* * *

Back on the other side of the drill, Raph and Mikey charged towards Hun, who in turn charged towards them. Katara was about to help, but Sokka stopped her.

"Katara, no." Sokka told her. "You gotta keep that pressure up so when Aang and the others deliver the final blow, the whole thing will pop."

"What about you guys?" Katara asked.

"We candle this big guy, just keep working." Sokka said as he drew his club and ran forward.

Mikey was sent flying by a punch from Hun. Raph lunged forward and knocked Hun back with his shoulder. Raph jumped up and tried to slash Hun with his sais, but Hun grabbed him and slammed him on the ground on the other side. Hun then heard a battle cry and turned to see Sokka charging towards him, who slammed his club on Hun's chest but wasn't affected in the least.

"Ha, was that supposed to hurt?" Hun said with an eager smile, causing Sokka to look in dread. He was then sent flying with a slap. Mikey flailed his nunchucks to the back of Hun's head to send him stumbling into the mud, when he got up; he was greeted with a kick to the face, courtesy of Raph. Hun fell on his back in the mud. But when he got up, he came up high with a massive punch to send both Mikey and Raph flying into the recovering Sokka, causing him them to roll away a bit in the mud.

Hun slowly approached Katara, who looked quite frightened as he towered over her. "You're next, little girl."

Before Hun could do anything however, an earth-column socked Hun in the jaw, sending him skidding away.

"You guys need any help?" A certain voice asked.

They all looked to see Toph walk up towards them. "Yes please." Sokka squeaked a bit.

Toph took a stance as she set her dull eyes on Hun. "Let me handle this guy."

"Go for it kid." Raph told her.

Hun got up and rubbed the mud off his face. "First a bunch of Turtles, now we got a pair of elemental brats?! This whole planet's a freaking Freak-show!"

Toph coated herself in rock-armor and lunged forward, earth-fits first. She punched him in the gut, he slammed on her back, but she punched back. She punched him across the face; he punched her in the same area. It was quite a slugfest, with Toph's armor protecting her. She intercepted one punch and gave a sweeping kick that hit sent a rock from the ground to the side of Hun's head, causing him to stammer back. He recovered and slammed the back of his hand against the chest of Toph, the impact broke off her armor and sent her rolling, but she got up and made an earth-pillar rise below Hun to send him falling on his back. He grabbed a large chunk of the ground, tearing up a large rock, which he threw to Toph.

Toph punched the rock, shattering it, but that gave Hun an opening as he came in and punched Toph in the chest, sending her skidding across the ground. Hun slowly approached her; Sokka and Mikey we're about to intervene but Raph stopped them.

"Trust me guys, she's got this." Raph told them with a knowing smile.

Hun approached the seemingly down Toph and chuckled as he cracked his knuckles. Toph had a small grin on her face; she had him right where she wanted him.

Toph then punched the ground with both her hands, causing a large portion of the ground under Hun to rumble. She used her Earthbending to lift a large rock under Hun, carrying him into the air. She then sent it flying back into the mud, sending him crashing into Ty-Lee.

Toph joined Katara and they combined Waterbending with Earthbending on the mud to send the entire stream, Ty-Lee and Hun included, deep into the drill, plugging it up even further.

* * *

Back at the top of the drill, mud began to spill a bit out of the surface as Aang continued to cut into the drill's surface.

"Well Aang, how's it going?" Leo asked.

Aang took a quick breather. "What I give to be a Metalbender."

"Incoming!" Don called out as he used his staff to bat away an incoming blue fireball.

"Momo get out of here!" Aang told his lemur as it flew away.

Aang took a bending stance as Leo and Don drew their respective weapons. They looked to see Azula walk towards them before she took her own bending stance. It was a heated stare-down for about a minute before she sent a stream of blue fire towards Aang, which Leo cut with his katana.

"Aang, you keep working, Don and I will handle Azula." Leo said as he and Don ran towards Azula. Aang gave a worried look before continuing to cut away at the metal.

Leo and Don both leapt towards Azula. She sent a stream of blue fire forwards, forcing the two to split up. Don charged first, lunging his staff towards her. She jumped and flipped, landing with her hands on the staff and giving a flaming kick to Don forcing him back. Leo sliced towards her, which she was barley able to avoid. After landing on her feet, Leo pointed his sword less than an inch from Azula's face.

"How long have you been working with Hun and Stockman?!" Leo demanded.

"Let's just say the Avatar isn't the only one who's made other-worldly allies." Azula replied before giving a vertical flaming kick, forcing Leo to jump back.

Don came in twirling his staff, deflecting all the blue fireballs thrown towards him. He pole-vaulted on his staff and landed his feet on Azula, knocking her back, but she flipped and landed on her feet before sending another stream of blue fire towards him.

Leo sliced the incoming stream and tried to close the gap between him and Azula, as he did she created two blue fire whips in her hands. She threw one whip towards Leo, which he rolled under to avoid and sliced towards Azula's face, which she swerved to the side to avoid. She used her other whip to wrap around Leo's left sword and flung it out of his hands. She used her other whip at him, the sheer force knocked him back a bit.

Don smacked Azula in the side with his staff, causing her to stumble towards the edge of the drill, but she stabilized herself and sent a flaming kick to Don, which he blocked by twirling his staff, but the blast forced him back quite a bit.

Leo recovered to see Azula pick up his lost katana. She lit up with her blue fire before taking a stance, as did Leo with his remaining sword. The two stared down before charging forward. They clashed with their respective swords; sparks flew from the blue-fire surrounding the sword Azula was wielding. Azula swung downwards, which Leo blocked. Leo swung to the left, and Azula blocked that. Azula tried to make a horizontal slice but Leo jumped over and landed a kick on her back, causing her to let go of the sword and slide across the drill. She got up to see Leo take his sword back as the flames died out, and Don stand with his brother.

"You Turtles are persistent, I'll give you that much." Azula admitted.

"I think you mean 'experience'." Don corrected. "We're not afraid of a little girl who enjoys tormenting others just to feel good about herself." That earned a scowl from Azula.

"Aang, status!" Leo questioned as Aang made a visible x-cut in the metal.

"I'm almost through!" He stated.

However, the drill then began to shake as a massive slurry of mud splashed outwards from the end of the drill, encompassing Aang, Leo, Don, even Azula. Azula slid towards them; she slammed into both Leo and Don, who in turn, slammed into Aang. Azula and Leo slid to the left side of the drill, where as Don and Aang slid to the right side.

Leo dug his katana into the side to prevent him from falling. He saw that Azula was falling off the side, she tried to grip to the side with her shoes, but the mud prevented her from doing so. She looked as though she might have fallen off, but found her right foot was grabbed by something. She looked to see Leo holding her by the foot with his right hand, his left hand holding onto his sword imbedded in the side of the drill.

She was surprised at what he did, but covered it up quickly. "I would have landed alright by myself."

"You're welcome." Leo told her.

"I'm your enemy, you know." She reminded.

"You're just a kid." Leo told her. "You want some advice, stay away from the Foot. You trust them, you _will_ regret it." Leo threw her to the side, where he saw a platform. She was able to stabilize herself with Firebending as she saw Leo get back up.

Don and Aang slid down the other side of the drill. Aang grabbed Don's hand and the two tried to stabilize themselves. Aang used his Airbending to keep them from falling, but Momo grabbed Aang's shirt and help the two fly back up to the top.

"Thanks Momo." Aang told his beloved lemur.

"Yeah, we owe you one." Don added.

Leo jumped towards the two. "Alright now, what?"

"It's done." Aang said as the three got to the x-formation that he cut into the drill. "Now all I need is…" a rock fell to their side. "Actually, that is what I needed for once."

"Talk about perfect timing." Don commented.

Aang moved the rock over the cut. He then began to cut away at pieces of the rock until it resembled a large pin, which stuck into the cut.

"Time to bring down the hammer Aang." Leo told him.

"On it." Aang replied as he used Airbending to form an Air-scooter, which he used to ride straight up the wall. Once he was high enough the scooter vanished and he slowly turned around and ran straight down, using both gravity and Airbending to enhance his speed.

Leo and Don saw him both coming straight down. "Don, when I saw 'now', you jump."

"Got it."

Aang continued his descent just as Azula pulled herself back on top of the drill. She saw Aang and what he was about to do. She then ran straight forward, with the intent of stopping him.

"Leo, Azula's…"

"Ignore her, just get ready to jump!" Leo told Don.

Aang continued his descent and jumped straight down.

"JUMP NOW!" Leo yelled. He and Don jumped just as Azula sent a stream of blue fire towards them, which missed as he slammed in the nail. Leo and Don we're high enough not to get caught in the shockwave, but Azula wasn't so lucky as it sent her flying.

That did it. All the damage braces inside the drill fell apart as the drill collapsed and Mud began to overflow. Large explosions of mud erupted all throughout the drill. Mikey and Sokka cheered from the back.

"Here it comes!" Toph yelled as she created an earth-pillar to send herself, Katara, Raph, Mikey, and Sokka up to avoid the incoming mud. It all poured out of the drain. Ty-Lee slammed onto the side and bottom of the pillar, and Hun slammed into her, squishing her a bit.

After that, the drill completely broke apart and finally stopped working. It was finally over, despite that the drill manage to break through the outer wall.

Leo and Don helped Aang up as Momo landed on his shoulder.

"That was a rush." Aang complemented.

"Nice work." Leo said.

"And we can add a massive, militarized, drill to our 'war-machines destroyed' list." Don joked a bit.

* * *

At the observation tower, Stockman could only look in absolute shock at seeing the drill look like this.

The heroes had left. Ty-Lee and Hun had got up from the mud at the ground as Azula slid down. They looked to see Mai open up a hatch on the side.

"We lost."

"Gee, you think?" Hun replied.

* * *

 _Train Station_

"Last call for Ba-Sing-Se!"

Jet walked towards the train with his comrades right behind him. "Jet, relax." Smellerbee told him. "So the old guy had some hot tea, big deal."

"He heated it himself!" Jet exclaimed. "Those guys are Firebenders." He said with a scowl.

They looked to see Zuko and Iroh board a car up front, where as the Freedom Fighters boarded the car behind them.

Zuko and Iroh took their seats in the train, which just so happened to also have Than, Ying, and their baby next to them.

"What a handsome baby." Iroh complemented.

Ying giggled a bit. "Thank you."

A pair of Earthbenders used their bending to propel the train on the track and outside the outer wall, with the city as their destination.

* * *

 _Top of the wall_

Leo, Aang, Katara, Raph, Toph, Don, Sokka, Mikey, and Momo saw their work at the completely inoperable drill standing below them.

"Aw yeah baby!" Mikey cheered. "Turtles and Benders vs Giant Drill; the winners are us!"

"Got that right bro!" Raph stated as he and Mikey high-fived. "You rocked today to kid." Raph told Toph as he ruffled her hair.

"Was there any doubt?" Toph said, trying to hide her blushing cheeks.

"Nice work Team Avatar." Sokka said.

"Enough with the 'Team Avatar' stuff" Katara told her brother.

"Yeah, it's not really catching on their Sokka." Don agreed.

"Oh, I got one!" Mikey called with a raised hand. "How about 'The Justice Force!'"

"'Justice Force'? Really?" Toph questioned.

"What? It's cool." Mikey protested.

"It's from your comics." Raph pointed out.

"And you're point is?" Mikey questioned.

"How about… 'The Boomeraang squad'!" Sokka proposed. "See, it has an 'aang' in it. 'Boomeraang'?"

"I kinda like that one." Aang replied.

"Why don't we put the name thing on a hold until we get to the city." Leo said.

"Finally, someone makes sense around here." Katara said.

As they walked, Raph walked up close to Leo as he noticed he had a look of deep thought on his face. "What's up bro? We won."

"Yeah, but you saw who was there, right?" Leo spoke in a whisper that even Toph couldn't hear.

Raph knew what he was talking about. "Yeah, Stockman _and_ Hun." Raph replied in his own whisper. "You don't think that maybe _he's_ here to?"

"Let's hope not." Leo replied.

"Should we tell them?" Raph asked, referring to the Gaang.

"Maybe about the Foot, but not him." Leo replied. "Aang's already got enough problems."

"Yeah you're right. That guy would tear the kid apart like tissue paper." Raph agreed.

The group then began to make their way to the city.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few miles outside the wall of Ba-Sing-Se, at a Fire Nation war-camp; there was a large tent, where the four Elite Foot Ninja guarded. Inside the tent was Oroku Saki in his white and grey kimono, along with his adoptive daughter Karai. Currently, Hun was talking to them via communicator.

 _"Master, I regret to inform you that the drill has failed. The Turtles as well as the Avatar we're both able to destroy it."_ Hun informed.

"Did the drill at least penetrate the outer wall?" Oroku Saki asked.

 _"Yes master."_ Hun replied.

"Excellent." Saki said with a small grin, much to Hun's confusion. "All proceeds as planned. Hun; you, Stockman, Azula and the others report back here at once."

 _"Yes, Master Shredder."_ Hun said as the communication cut off.

Oroku Saki looked to the side of the tent which hung a map, the size of the wall, of the Four Nations; The geographical locations of the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, and Air Nomads (at least till their untimely demise).

"This is quite an interesting world, isn't it Karai?" Saki asked as he looked towards the large map. "Human beings capable of manipulating the elements as though it was an extension of their will, such a power could be most useful."

"Father, you know I am most loyal to you, but there is something that has been troubling me." Karai spoke up.

"Yes?"

"It's the Avatar." Karai began. "Yes I am aware that he has found allies in the Turtles, and will likely stand against us, but is he also a twelve year old child, not even a teenager. And his company also includes children, not much older than him."

"Is there a point to this Karai?" Saki asked.

"Father, they're children." Karai told him. "Children are not meant to be involved in war. Perhaps we could find ways to motivate them, get them to at the very least stay out of the way."

"They are allied with the Turtles." Saki replied. "Those who do not side with me are against me, and I crush anyone who stands against me." Saki said as he picked up from a table a bladed-gauntlet.

"The Fire Nation…" Karai began.

"...Are my pawns." Saki replied. "In the end, they and their leader, Ozai, will either bow to me, or fall with the rest of the planet." He said before he used his gauntlet to slice the entire map of the Four Nations in half.

Shredder's gauntlet shined as Karai had a look of concern on her face.

 **Done.**

 **This spells all kinds of bad for the heroes. Will Aang and his friends be ready to stand against the Shredder?**

 **Find out soon on Worlds Collide.**


	7. City of Walls and Secrets

**Hello everyone. Thank you all for waiting. Now then, let's get started. I own neither Avatar: Last Airbender, nor TMNT (2003 series).**

 **City of Walls and Secrets**

 _New York City, Lair of the Turtles._

All was quiet within the lair, too quiet. It wasn't usually like this; often there was some form of noise caused by at least one of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; but no Turtle was there, no the only occupant was the humanoid, mutant rat, Master Splinter, who was mediating on a mat in the middle of the lair. He heard some noise and looked with one eye open to see the hexagonal-shape door open to reveal none other than Casey Jones walk in with his golf bag filled with hockey sticks, baseball bats, cricket bats, and even a few golf clubs.

"Yo! Master Splinter, you called me?" The vigilante called out.

Splinter got up and began to walk towards him. "Yes, have you seen my sons? Their absence does not sit right." He said as he stroke his beard.

"No, haven't seen them for the last few days." Casey replied. "Heard they went off on some fancy mission."

"Yes I heard that as well, one involving the Shredder and the Foot." Splinter confirmed.

"Whoa, whoa, did you just say Shredder?" The surprised Casey questioned. "That's it! I'm gonna go look for them."

"Casey Jones, wait a moment!" Splinter stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from walking out. "If this involves the Shredder, then I cannot allow you to venture alone."

"Splinter, I can't just leave the guys hanging like this, I gotta go help them."

"I agree, that is why I am coming with you." Splinter replied.

"Say wha?" Casey asked.

"As I said, this involves the Shredder, and nothing personal, but you would not last so much as five minutes against him." Splinter said, resulting in Casey scowling a bit. "But I shall go with you, and besides, I'm the only ones who knows where they went."

"Oh, okay, guess that makes sense." Casey said. "So come on, what are we waiting for?" He asked as he lowered his hockey mask with an eager smile. "Let's go bust some skulls."

Train to Ba-Sing-Se

Earthbenders propelled the train across the tracks from the Outer Wall towards the main city. Within the train sat several refugees, as well as our heroes. Aang sat on the right side along with Katara, Leo, and Mikey, while Raph, Don, Sokka, and Toph, with Momo on her lap, sat on the left side on board the moving train. The Turtles we're forced to wear there hooded robes again due to coming to a massive and densely populated city.

As they sat, Katara looked out the window and saw their destination. "Look! The Inner Wall!" The group looked out their own windows to see the large wall as well

"Finally!" Mikey exclaimed. "We had to fight a bunch of Fire-jerks, a psycho owl, cross a dessert, take down a massive drill and some old friends; but now we made it!"

"Got that right." Katara agreed. "I can't believe we finally made it to Ba-Sing-Se in one piece."

"Was there ever any doubt?" Raph asked with a bit of confidence in his voice.

"Hey don't jinx it!" Sokka stated. "We could still be attacked by a giant Fire Nation spoon; or find out the city's been submerged in a sea of killer shrimp."

Don chuckled a bit. "Exploding spoons wouldn't do that much damage, and no form of shrimp can survive without water."

"Yeah, have you been hitting the Cactus Juice again?" Toph questioned Sokka.

"I'm just saying, weird stuff happens to us." Sokka replied.

"Yeah, same thing with our group to." Raph said. Right when that was said, an overweight man with an entire cob of corn in his mouth sat in between Raph and Sokka. "See what I mean?"

Leo looked to Aang to see him looking rather worried. "Aang, we'll find Appa. I promise."

"It's such a big city."

"Come on Aang, did you see the size of that bison?" Mikey tried to cheer him up. "Where would they hide something that big?"

The train passed through a tunnel in the inner wall and they all saw the massive city that is the Earth Kingdom Capital of Ba-Sing-Se; something that made all of them, minus the blind Toph, look with wide eyes.

"You just had to say something." Raph uttered to Mikey.

The train stopped at the station; where the eight heroes got off and they all got a good view of the large city.

Toph sighed a bit. "Back in the city, great." She said sarcastically.

"What's the problem?" Sokka questioned. "It's amazing!"

"Just a bunch of walls and rules." Toph replied. "You wait, you'll get sick of it in a couple of days."

"Meh." Mikey said.

"What do you mean 'meh'?" Katara asked.

"This place is big, but it's got nothin' on Manhattan, that's a city." Mikey told her.

Aang took out his bison-whistle, he blew into it. "I'm coming for you buddy." Katara walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder; Leo walked up as well. "He's here I can feel it."

"Let's not drop our guard down." Raph said.

"What do you mean by that?" Don asked.

"You guys sure we should put all our hopes on Ba-Sing-Se? It just sounds, too good to be true." Raph said.

"This is the first good thing that's happened to us, what's the worse that can happen?" Sokka questioned.

"There's just something about this place that I don't like. Call it instinct." Raph replied as the train began to pull away.

As the train left, it revealed a woman who had a very wide smile glued to her face.

"Okay, that's creepy." Mikey whispered.

Leo could tell that smile was defiantly forced; maybe Raph was onto something.

The woman walked forward to address the group. "Hello, my name is Ju-Dee." She began. "I have been given the great honor of showing the Avatar around Ba-Sing-Se. You must be Katara, Sokka, and Toph; and you four must be these spirit warriors we've heard so much about." She said to the hooded Turtles. "Shall we get started."

"Yes." Leo began. "Can you take us to see the Earth King? We have important information we need to give him."

"Great." Ju-Dee replied. "Let's begin our tour, and then I'll show you to your new home here, I'll think you'll like it."

Everyone looked rather surprised at that. Sokka then walked up to Ju-Dee.

"Maybe you misheard him." Sokka began. "We need to talk to the king about the war, it's important."

Ju-Dee kept up her unusually large smile. "You're in Ba-Sing-Se now, everyone is safe here."

Everyone had a confused expression on his or her face; save for Raph, whom Don whispered to.

"What was it you said about this being 'too-good-to-be-true'?" Don whispered. "I think you may have been onto something."

"Yeah, something about this city just doesn't sit right with me." Raph whispered back.

Team Avatar and the disguised Turtles we're now in a carriage with Ju-Dee, who had begun their tour, as she was showing them around the entire city.

"This is the lower ring."

"What's that wall for?" Katara asked.

"Ba-Sing-Se has many walls." Ju-Dee answered. "There are the ones outside, protecting us; and there are the ones inside to help maintain order."

"So what's so special about this place?" Mikey asked.

"This is where our newest arrivals live, as well as craftsmen and artisans, people who work with their hands. It's so quaint and lively." The carriage passed by a couple of questionable men with swords. "You do want to watch your step though."

"Why do they have all these poor people blocked off in one part of the city?" Katara asked.

"It must be a hierarchy-based society." Don guessed. "The lower class, which has all the poor people like this; the middle class, consisting of people who make average income; and the upper class, with the more 'important' people."

"Yes, you seem very well researched." Ju-Dee said to Don.

"This is why I never came here before." Aang said. "I always heard it was so different from out the monks taught us to live."

Leo looked out the window and towards the city; he was defiantly getting an unsettling feeling about this place.

Elsewhere in the Lower Ring

Zuko was walking down a street, where Iroh caught up with him, holding a large vase of flowers; which Zuko gave a questionable look at.

"I just want our new place to look nice, in case someone brings home a lady friend." Iroh said with a wink and a playful nudge to his nephew.

Zuko sighed. "This city is a prison. I don't want to make a life here."

"Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not." Iroh replied. "No come on, I found us some new jobs and we start this afternoon."

As they walked, they we're unknowingly being followed by a certain group of teenagers.

"Look at them." Jet said with disgust in his voice. "Firebenders living right under everyone's nose." He said as they walked further down; Smellerbee and Long Shot caught up with their leader.

"Jet, you saw a man with a hot cup of tea, it doesn't prove he's a Firebender." Smellerbee told him. "And what if he is? Are we supposed to attack them? I thought we we're starting over here, changing our ways."

"We are." Jet insisted. "When I get the evidence I need, I'll report them to the police, and let them handle it. Okay?"

Smellerbee and Long Shot looked towards each other with concern evident on their faces.

Back with the 'tour' for our heroes; the carriage entered a section of the city that looked less run down than the last one.

"This is the Middle Ring; home to the financial district, shops and restaurants, and university." Ju-Dee told the uninterested group.

"Yeah we met a professor from Ba-Sing-Se University…" Sokka began.

"The dude to us to an ancient library in the middle of the desert…" Mikey continued.

"We also found some information in regards to the war…" Don continued as well.

"…That is absolutely crucial for the King to hear!" Don, Mikey, and Sokka all said at the same time.

"Isn't history fascinating?" Ju-Dee questioned, her smile not vanishing. "Look! Here's one of the oldest buildings in the middle ring, Town Hall." She walked out, but everyone else stayed inside.

"What is wrong with her?" Mikey questioned. "Every time we say the words 'war' or 'Fire Nation' she just blocks us out."

"It's called 'being handled'." Toph said. "Get used to it."

"Guys, I'm getting a feeling Ba-Sing-Se isn't as glamorous as we thought it was." Raph pointed out.

"All that glitters is not gold." Leo said.

"What?" Aang asked

"Meaning, Raph may be onto something." Leo translated.

Back in the Lower Ring

Jet hung outside a teashop, he glanced inside the window to see Zuko and Iroh with the tea-shop-owner with aprons on.

"Well, you certainly look like official tea-servers." The owner said to the two. "How do you feel?"

"Ridiculous." Zuko uttered under his breath.

Iroh tried to tie the apron around his back but was unable to connect the string. "Uh… does this possibly come in a larger size?"

"I have some extra string in the back. Have some tea while you wait." The shop owner said as he poured them two cups of tea and then walked to the back.

Iroh sipped the tea, but his eyes widened in shock a bit. "Ugh. This tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice!"

"Uncle, that's what all tea is." Zuko said.

"How can a member of my own family say something so horrible?!" Iroh questioned as he took the tea pot. "We'll have to make some major changes around here!"

Jet gasped as he saw Iroh heading towards the window he was spying from. He ducked away so Iroh didn't notice when he dumped the 'hot leaf juice' outside. Jet then hung back into the shadows.

The tour for the heroes had now entered the more wealthy part of Ba-Sing-Se.

"The Upper Ring is home to our most important citizens." Ju-Dee said. "You're house is not to far from here."

"Lame city aside, at least we're getting the royal treatment for once." Mikey stated.

The carriage soon passed a massive red building with a red wall surrounding the entire building.

"What's inside that wall?" Katara asked.

The group looked outside to see three men in dark green robes with the Earth Kingdom symbol on it and dark green saucer hats. They looked to the group with slight scowls, something the Turtles especially noticed.

"And who are the questionable guys in robes?" Don questioned.

"Inside that wall is the Palace." Ju-Dee began. "And those are agents of the Dai-Lee, the cultural authority of Ba-Sing-Se. They are the guardians of all our traditions."

"'Cultural authority'? or secret police?" Leo whispered to Raph.

"Can we see the king now?" Aang asked.

"Oh no, one doesn't just pop-in on the Earth King." Ju-Dee replied resulting in most of the group hanging their heads."

"Of course they don't." Raph uttered in a sigh.

The carriage stopped before a small house and the group walked outside. "Here we are, you're new home." Ju-Dee showed the group. A man walked up to her and handed her a scroll. "More good news: your request for an audience with the Earth King is being processed and should be put through in about a month, much more quickly than usual."

"A month!?" Sokka and Mikey both exclaimed at the same time.

"Six to eight weeks actually." Ju-Dee replied with her unnatural smile; resulting in Raph face palming.

The group was then showed the inside of their 'new home'.

"Isn't it nice? I think you'll really enjoy it here." Ju-Dee said.

"I think we'd enjoy it more if we weren't staying so long." Sokka said.

"Is there any way we can see the Earth King sooner?" Leo asked.

"The Earth King is very busy running the finest city in the world, but he will see you as soon as time permits."

Leo, Raph, Don, even Mikey, weren't quite convinced at this.

"If we're gonna be here for a month, we should spend our time looking for Appa." Aang said.

"At least make our stay more productive." Don agreed.

"I'll be happy to escort you anywhere you'd like to go." Ju-Dee offered with a bow.

"We don't need a babysitter." Toph said.

"We can handle this ourselves, so thanks but no thanks lady." Raph added as he and Toph both stood up, walking towards the door.

"Oh, I won't get in the way, and to leave you alone would make me a bad host, where shall we start?" Ju-Dee asked.

Leo looked towards Ju-Dee, having a very bad feeling about this. He thought it was probably best to keep an eye on her.

Lower Ring

The group we're in a pet shop. Momo was eating some of the feed off a perch but was growled away by some kind of cross between a cat and an owl.

"I'm sorry, I haven't heard anything about a flying bison, I didn't even know there we're any." The shop owner said.

"If someone wanted to sell a stolen animal without anyone knowing, where would they go?" Aang asked.

"A very rare animal that could be sold off at a very high price." Don added.

"Where's the Black Market? Who runs it? Come on you know." Sokka questioned.

"You better spill pal." Raph said as well.

The shop owner began to sweat a bit. He glanced towards Ju-Dee who shook her head; Leo noticed it out of the corner of his eye and gave a slight glare.

"Uh.. that would be illegal."

"Really?" Mikey asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Even I know that's a lame excuse."

"You'll have to leave now, your lemur is harassing my sparrowkeetes." He said, when in fact Momo was the one being harassed by the birds.

Middle Ring, Ba-Sing-Se University

The group was now questioning a student of the university.

"I've never seen any Sandbenders or nomads around here." The student said. "You should ask Professor Zei, he teaches the class on Desert Cultures."

"Wasn't that the same guy who went with us to that crazy library?" Mikey asked Don.

"Yep, it is." Don confirmed.

Raph then looked towards the student. "Well can any of your Profs tell us about the Fire Nation, and the century-long war that's been going on?"

The student looked towards Ju-Dee who shook her head again, something Leo noticed again as well.

"I don't know, I'm not a political science student." He said as he quickly got up with his scrolls. "I have to get to class." He tripped and quickly picked up his scrolls before walking away in a hurry.

Back at the house.

"Well, I'm sorry no one has seen your bison." Ju-Dee said from inside her carriage. "Why don't you get some rest? Someone will be over with dinner later." She left in the carriage as it rolled away.

Mikey gave a grateful sigh. "I thought she'd never leave."

Leo looked and noticed in the house across the street; someone was looking in their direction before ducking back inside.

"Guys, follow me." Leo said as the group walked towards the house. Leo knocked on the front door.

A man slowly opened the door and stuck his head out. "You're the Avatar." He said towards Aang. "I heard you we're in town. I'm Pong."

"Nice to meet you Pong." Aang greeted.

"You can drop the act, you know." Raph told him. "Something's up with this city and you know it."

"What are you talking about?" Pong asked.

"Come on, why is everyone so scared to talk about the war?" Sokka questioned.

"War? Scared…?" Pong stuttered.

"I can feel you shaking." Toph said.

"And you're sweating." Don observed.

"Look, I'm just a minor government official, I've waited three years to get this house. I don't want to get into trouble."

"Get in trouble with who?" Katara asked, but Pong quickly shushed her.

"Listen, you can't mention the war here. And whatever you do, stay away from the Dai-Lee." Pong closed the door.

"Yeah, I knew something was up with those guys." Raph said as the group walked back toward the house.

"Forget that, this whole city is messed up." Mikey stated.

"You can say that again." Toph stated.

"So what do we do now?" Aang asked.

"You guys hang here." Leo began, referring to Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph. "The rest of us will wait until night fall when it's pitch black. We'll search this city and see if we can find Appa ourselves."

"By yourselves?" Katara questioned.

"We've done this all the time back in New York." Don said. "It's no different here."

"We'll also keep an eye out and see if we can find what's really going on here." Raph replied.

Nexus Temple

At the very top of the underground pyramid; laid at least a dozen unconscious Foot Ninja, all of whom we're recently dealt with by Master Splinter. He slowly walked up to the center of the monastery. He read the ruins before placing his palms together and chanting an inaudible language. This wasn't any too different from when he traveled to the Battle Nexus Tournament.

As he chanted the ruins began to glow and a white vortex opened up.

"Casey, I believe I have found…" He looked behind to see no one was there. "Hmm? Casey?"

Soon a response came in the form of a certain vehicle revving up. He looked towards the stairs to see Casey riding up on his motorcycle. "Wahoo!" Casey chanted as he began to make donuts on his motorcycle then ride straight into the vortex.

Splinter rubbed his face before sighing. "Now I understand why Raphael enjoys his company." Splinter then ran into the Nexus Portal after him.

Ba-Sing-Se, Night time.

Jet spied on Zuko and Iroh as they we're in their apartment. He hid behind hanging laundry near the roof. He looked through their windows and saw Zuko laying on his bed with Iroh at the counter.

"Would you like a pot of tea?" Iroh offered.

"We've been working in a tea shop all day!" Zuko replied. "I'm sick of tea!"

"Sick of tea?!" Iroh questioned as to how that was even possible. "That's like being sick of breathing!" He began to look around. "Have you seen our spark-rocks to heat up the water?"

"There not there." Jet said to himself as he held the spark rocks. "You'll have to Firebend old man." He saw Iroh leave from sight briefly. "Where are you going?"

Iroh walked back into the room. "I borrowed our neighbor's." He said to Zuko. "Such kind people." Iroh sparked the rocks and lit the timber under the teapot.

Jet ducked behind his cover, though what he didn't notice we're four certain individuals moving swiftly on the roof tops above and around, without making so much as a single noise.

The Turtles leaped from rooftop to rooftop, being silent as possible. As they did they stopped at one point, looked around for any sign of the Flying Bison, but have had no luck so far. The Turtles however did notice a few Dai-Lee agents patrolling the streets and alleyways throughout the city. It was clear that these agents we're more like secret police as Leo speculated.

Far outside the outskirts of Ba-Sing-Se

While night was still present, all was silent in a forest outside the outer wall, but the noise was broken by the sound of a motorcycle riding throughout the forest; which rode out and jumped a hill before landing in a clearing; the one at the front of the motorcycle was in fact Casey Jones, with Master Splinter hanging on behind them.

"Whoa." Casey breathed. "Can you believe we just jumped into another world!?"

"I imagine this must be quite stressful for you, not being used to this sort of thing." Splinter said.

"Stressful? Ha! No chance! This is the most exciting thing that's happened to me ever!" Casey exclaimed. "Goongala baby! GOONGALA!"

Splinter gave an amused smile as he shook his head. "Well, while I am glad that you have taken a positive reaction to this, remember why we're here."

"Yeah, I know, we're looking for the guys." Casey replied. They both looked to their right to see the massive wall. "Yowza, now that is one big wall. Like Great Wall of China kinda big"

"How much are you willing to wager my sons are over there?" Splinter guessed.

"Then lets find out." Casey revved up his motorcycle and rode forward.

The Gaang's House, early morning

Katara had apparently just woken up as she got outside and stretched with a yawn, but gave a startled shriek when the robed Turtles dropped down in front of her.

As she shrieked Mikey also shrieked a bit as well. "Please don't do that!" He breathed. "Almost jumped out of my shell."

"Sorry, but you almost gave me a heart attack, you guys are too quiet." Katara replied.

"We're ninjas, remember, we're supposed to be quiet." Raph reminded.

"So when did you guys get back?" She asked.

"Just now." Leo replied.

"You we're searching all night?"

"Ugh don't remind me." Mikey groaned as he rubbed his eye and yawned. "This turtle seriously needs his beauty sleep."

"Do you have any idea how big this city is?" Don questioned. "I think we only covered one third of the entire city this entire night."

"No sign of Appa?"

"No sign of Appa." Leo replied.

Katara then took the mail from the mailbox and found something very interesting. "But I think I just found something that could really help us. Come on inside."

The group then walked inside to see Aang leaning on a railing, Toph sitting on a pillow, and Sokka laying on the floor with his legs prepped up against the wall.

"Hey, look who's back." Toph said as she sensed the Turtles walking into the room.

"So did you find Appa?" Aang asked hopefully.

"Does it look like we found Appa?" Raph groaned.

"Sorry Aang, nothing yet." Leo apologized, causing Aang to look down a bit.

"But Katara here does have some good news." Mikey pointed out.

"Got that right, I know how we're going to see the Earth King."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Toph questioned. "'One does not just pop in on the Earth King'." She mockingly quoted, earning a grin from Raph.

"The King is having a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear." Katara revealed as she read the invitation.

"So the guy's got a pet bear huh?" Mikey guessed. "That's pretty cool."

"You mean platypus-bear?" Aang asked.

"No it just says 'bear'."

"Certainly you mean his pet skunk-bear." Sokka said.

"Or his pet armadillo-bear." Toph chimed.

"Gofer-bear?" Aang asked.

"Just 'bear'." Katara read.

"This place is weird." Toph said.

"Ironic." Don said. "Because to us, that's the most normal thing the four of us have seen in this world."

"What do you mean by that?" Aang asked.

"Where we're from, we don't have hybrid animals." Raph said.

"Hybrid animals?" Sokka asked, not really understanding it.

"Vulture-wasps, skunk-bears, saber tooth-moose-lion…" Don listed.

"Yeah, we just got lions, bears, tigers, wolves, hawks, lizards, you know, normal animals." Mikey finished.

"Mixed animals aside, there's also the fact that you kids got some kind of elemental magic and hang out with a practical god…" Raph gestured to Aang. "One could say your world is pretty weird."

"Right…" Toph said. "This coming from four walking talking turtles."

"Touché." Raph replied.

"Getting back to the matter at hand." Leo got everyone's attention. "How's this party going to help us?"

"The palace will be packed, we could sneak in with the crowd." Katara proposed.

"Wont' work." Toph said as she fell back on her pillow

"Why not?" Katara asked.

"Well no offense to you simple-country-folk, but a real society crowd would spot you a mile away, you've got no manners." Toph said as she took a snack in her hand.

"Excuse me? I've got no manners?" Katara questioned. "You're not exactly lady fancy fingers."

"No she isn't." Raph agreed with a smug grin, indicating he had no problem with it.

Toph gave a burp before continuing. "I learned proper society behavior and choose to leave it." She nonchalantly threw the half-eaten snack away. "You didn't learn anything, and frankly it's a little too late."

"Then the four of us will just have to sneak in." Leo said.

"Uh did you guys not hear her?" Sokka questioned. "These fancy people would spot non-fancy people easy, I'm sure four giant Turtles are gonna stick out like a sore-thumb."

"You guys don't have ninjas here, do you?" Don asked.

"Huh?" Sokka questioned.

"Ninjas stick to the shadows; silent and indivisible." Mikey said as he held his arm in front of his face like a ninja. "The way of the warrior."

"Come on, no one turns invisible." Sokka said skeptically.

Leo, Don, Raph, and Mikey all looked to each other with mischievous grins. "Hey, guys. Look over there!" Leo pointed out.

Katara, Aang, and Sokka all looked in the direction where Leo was pointing. "What?" Katara asked. "I don't see any…" They turned around only to be surprised as the Ninja Turtles had completely vanished from sight, as though they we're never there.

Aang had an impressed smile on his face. "Wow, they're good."

"Told ya!" Mikey's head popped down from the ceiling, spooking Sokka and causing him to fall on his back, resulting in the Turtles snickering as they dropped down.

"Well, you guys are covered." Katara observed. "What about the rest of us, we're not exactly ninjas ourselves."

Sokka then got an idea. "Toph here did say she learned proper-society stuff, she could teach us."

"Yeah I'm mastering every element, how hard could manners be?" Aang said as he draped a curtain around him like a fancy robe. "Good evening Mr. Sokka Water-Tribe, Ms. Katara Water-Tribe, Leonardo-san, Donatello-san, Raphael-san, Michelangelo-san, Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty." He acted like a fancy man.

Sokka draped himself in a curtain as well. "Avatar Aang, how do you do."

Mikey even used his own robe as a drape as well. "All hail the king of the elements, I am honored to bask in your presence." He acted like a samurai-lord.

Aang, Mikey, and Sokka repeatedly and playfully bowed their heads before accidentally banging their heads together. Leo and Don shook their heads at their immaturity where as Raph simply face-palmed.

"Katara might be able to pull it off." Toph said as she stood up.

"But you bozos would be lucky to pass as buss-boys." Raph added.

"But I feel so fancy." Sokka said.

Later that evening.

Leo, Aang, Raph, Mikey, Don, and Sokka stood in the main room waiting for the girls to get ready. When the door opened, it revealed Katara and Toph dressed in fancy dresses with make up, flower-hair-pieces, and fans. They both giggled.

Aang blushed at seeing Katara this way. "Wow, you look beautiful."

"Smooth, kid. Real subtle" Raph said sarcastically.

Katara was about to reply but Toph put her fan over her mouth. "Don't talk to the commoners Katara, first rule of society."

"Okay, everyone gather around." Don said as he pulled out a small box and opened it to reveal eight small silver circular disks with a small blue button on each.

"What are they?" Katara asked.

"Their comn-links." Don replied.

"Comn-links?" Aang asked.

"Communication devices." Don answered. "You put them in your ears, no one notices them, and we use them to keep in constant contact." Each of them took a comn-link and put it in his or her ear. "You press the button inside to talk and let it go to listen." Don then pressed the button. "Testing. Testing. 1. 2. 3. Can you hear me?"

"Well I can hear your voice inside my head now, so I'd say that's a yes." Toph replied.

"Okay here's the plan." Leo began. "Katara and Toph will try to get inside while Raph, Don, Mikey and I sneak in through the roof; one group will try to get Aang and Sokka in through the side-gate, and then we'll split up to search for the Earth King, whoever finds him first, report your position."

"Even though I doubt Toph's family seal thing won't work." Raph stated.

"It got us into the bay last time, didn't it?" Toph reminded.

"This a King's palace. The security there is going to be real." Raph said.

"We'll see about that." Toph replied as she and Katara walked outside.

Meanwhile, Jet continued to spy. He was looking towards the teashop that his targeted Firebenders we're working at.

"Jet. We need to talk." Smellerbee said as she walked onto the scene with Long Shot.

"Oh great, it's you guys." Jet said. "Where have you been? I could use your help with surveillance here."

"We've been talking." Smellerbee began. "And we think you're becoming obsessed with this. It's not healthy."

"Oh really? You both think this?"

Long Shot put a hand on Smellerbee's shoulder to confirm it. "We came here to make a fresh start." Smellerbee reminded. "But you won't let this go, even though there's no real proof!"

"Well maybe if you'd help me…!"

"Jet, you've got to stop this." Smellerbee told him.

"Maybe you've forgotten why we need to start over." Jet began. "Maybe you've forgotten how the Fire Nation left us all homeless, how they've whipped out all the people that we've loved?" He questioned, causing is two comrades to look down. "If you don't want to help me, I'll get the evidence on my own."

Jet then began to walk towards the teashop.

Inside said shop; Zuko and Iroh we're both serving tea to the many customers. Two of these customers we're Earth Kingdom police officers, one of which really enjoyed his tea.

"This is the best tea in the city."

"The secret ingredient is love." Iroh said with a smile, causing Zuko to look a tad disturbed.

Iroh walked up to the shop owner and both looked proudly at the many happy customers. "I think you're due for a raise."

Jet then slammed his foot on the door, kicking it open. "I'm tired of waiting! These two men are Firebenders!" He pointed to Zuko and Iroh as he drew his hook swords. "I know they're Firebenders! I saw the old man heating his tea!"

The two policemen looked at each other. "He works in a teashop."

"He's a Firebender, I'm telling you!"

The policemen we're now getting serious. "Drop your swords boy, nice and easy."

Jet walked towards Iroh. "You'll have to defend yourself, then everyone will know. Go ahead, show em what you can do."

Before the police could get up, Zuko stood in front of him. "You want a show? I'll give you a show!" He drew his dao-swords.

Zuko kicked a table to Jet, which he used his hook-swords to flip over and attempt to slice Zuko, but he jumped onto another table. Jet sliced that table in half and proceeded to slice Zuko again but he jumped up and sliced downwards, causing Jet to backflip. Zuko and Jet then clashed with their respective blades.

Earth King's Palace

Crowds of people all gathered together on the ground below, but they didn't notice the four robed Turtles leaping on top of the roof, without a single guard noticing. They quickly and quietly moved across the rooftop towards a window, it was locked, but they weren't too surprised.

Raph used his sai to cut a hole in the window. He reached in and pulled the latch, unlocking the window.

Leo then accessed his earpiece. "Katara, Toph; this is Leo, we're in."

"We're almost in to." Katara answered back.

"Hey Raph, if your listening, prepare to eat your words." Toph chimed in.

The Turtles we're able to look down below to see the girls in the line of guests.

Down below, Toph and Katara we're coming up towards the guard at the front gate.

"Invitation please." The guard said.

Toph held up her family seal. "I think this will do."

"No entry without an invitation." The guard said. "Step out of line please."

"Look, the Pangs and the Yum-Su-Hans are waiting in there for us." Toph told him. "I'm gonna have to tell them who didn't let me in."

"Step out of line please." The guard insisted as he pointed in the opposite direction and they walked away.

"Told you." Raph said in his earpiece to Toph.

"Okay, so I was wrong." Toph grunted.

"Well, what are you guys gonna do now?" Don asked.

Katara noticed a well dressed man in a dark green robe exit the carriage, she got an idea. "Hang on guys." Katara told the Turtles via her earpiece. "I think I found our way in."

They walked up towards the man. "Excuse me sir." Katara began, while the concealed Turtles looked towards them. "I'm sorry to bother you, but my cousin lost our invitations. She's blind." She whispered that last part. "Do you think you can help us? Our family's inside and I'm sure they're very worried."

"I am honored." The man said with a bow. "Please come with me." He led the girls inside past the guard, while the robbed Turtles snuck in through the window.

A few minutes later; Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey, still shrouded in black robes, stuck to the ceiling beams.

"Man, this is quite the party." Mikey observed. "Hey dudes, look."

They looked to where their youngest brother was pointing to, at the end of the long dining table sat none other than the Earth King's pet bear, dressed up fancy-like as well.

"Aw isn't that cute?" Mikey said.

"Yeah, cute as a puppy." Raph said with sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Guys, the girls are in." Leo said and they looked down to the entrance to see Katara, Toph, and their escort, walk inside.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" He said, referring to the bear. "By the way, I'm Long Feng, I'm a cultural minister to the king."

"I'm Qua-mey." Katara introduced her made-up-name. "And this is Dumb." She introduced Toph, which caused Mikey to snicker a bit. Toph then pulled down on Katara's hair a bit, causing Raph to smirk a bit this time.

"Now where is your family?" Long Feng asked. "I'd love to meet them."

"Uh.." Katara looked around. "I don't see them right now, but I'm sure we'll find them soon, thanks for all your help." She and Toph began to walk away.

Suddenly Long Feng appeared in front of them. "Don't worry, as your escort it would be dishonorable for me to abandon you ladies without finding your family, we'll keep looking."

"Just go with him guys." Leo said to them via their comn-links. "We'll let Aang and Sokka in, once you get in with the crowd, you can slip away."

"Got it." Katara whispered into her ear-piece.

The Turtles then turned to each other as Leo addressed his brothers. "Okay; Mikey and Don, you try to find the Earth King, Raph you get to the side entrance to let Aang and Sokka inside, I'll keep an eye on this guy."

"Yeah." Raph agreed. "There's something about that Long Feng I don't like."

"We'll let you know if we find the Earth King." Don said. "Come on Mikey."

Don and Mikey hopped in one direction on the ceiling beams, while Raph did so in the opposite direction, leaving Leo alone, who couldn't help but give a suspicious look towards Long Feng.

Meanwhile; Aang and Sokka, along with Momo, hung back by a large statue near the guarded side gate.

"Where are they?" Aang wondered.

Sokka then pulled Aang back. "Look, I came up with a back-up plan." He picked up the pet lemur. "We dress Momo like a ghost, okay? He flies above the guards, causing a distraction; then we blast a hole in the wall…"

"Yo guys, this is Raph." The red-clad Turtle said through both their earpieces. "Look to the window to your left." The guys looked towards the right. "That's your right, idiots!" They then looked in the opposite direction where they saw Raph by a window off the corner, waving them to come forward.

They walked up to Raph. "Did you find the Earth King yet?" Aang asked.

"Not yet, but put these on." Raph replied as he tossed the two boys some uniforms.

"What are these?" Sokka asked.

"Well, I did say you could pass off as bus-boys, remember?" Raph reminded.

"Aw." Sokka complained. "But I had this great Momo-Ghost-Plan…" But he couldn't finish as Raph grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in, prompting Aang to follow in as well.

Zuko was thrown out the door of the teashop as he continued to clash blades against Jet.

"You must be getting tired of using those swords. Why don't you go ahead and Firebend at me?" Jet baited.

"Please son, you're confused! You don't know what you're doing!" Iroh pleaded from inside the teashop.

As the two swordsmen continued to clash, Jet was able to hook his two swords together and began to swing them like a long blade whip. "Bet you wish he'd be able to help you out with a fire blast right now!" Jet stated as he swung across the ground towards Zuko.

Zuko then pierced the ground, in-between the handle of the attached-hook-sword, immobilizing it. "You're the one who needs help!" Zuko told Jet.

Zuko used his only available sword to make a horizontal slice, which Jet limboed to avoid, but it did manage to slice the hay straw in Jet's teeth. Jet back flipped onto a nearby well.

"You see that?!" Jet addressed the crowd they've gathered. "The Fire Nation is trying to silence me! It'll never happen!" He jumped back to Zuko as they clashed again.

Back at the party

Don and Mikey rejoined Leo on the ceiling beams; Mikey was holding an armful of oeuvres, which he was currently enjoying.

"How'd you even get that?" Leo asked.

"Do you really wanna know?" Mikey questioned.

"On second thought, no." Leo replied.

"So where's this Long Feng guy?" Don asked.

Leo looked around. "That's odd, I can't see him anymore. Maybe vanished with the crowd."

Raph came up to his brothers. "Alright, I got them inside."

"Where are they?" Leo asked, Raph pointed downward to Aang and Sokka, who we're currently serving food and dressed as busboys.

"I see Katara and Toph coming up to them as well." Don noticed.

Leo then accessed his comns. "Okay, everyone here?"

"Yep." Aang replied.

"I'm here." Katara said.

"I hear you." Sokka replied.

"Whatever." Toph grunted a bit.

"Any sign of the king?" Aang asked into his comn.

"Not yet." Don replied.

"He can't be that hard to spot." Sokka said. "Lots of jewelry, flowing robes…"

"Oh I see, so that pretty much narrows it down to everyone in this joint!" Raph stated.

"Then how are we supposed to find him?" Katara asked.

"Heads up guys, incoming at six o'clock." Mikey warned.

Ju-Dee managed to get to the four kids, whom she was able to recognize them. "What are you doing here?!" She whispered. "You all need to leave immediately or we'll all be in terrible trouble!" She tried to shove Sokka away, but he blocked her with a tray he was holding.

"Not until we see the king." Sokka protested.

Don was the first to notice her odd behavior. "Is it just me?" He said to his brothers. "Or is she acting scared?"

"It's not just you, she's defiantly nervous." Leo confirmed.

"Nervous? About what?" Mikey wondered.

When Ju-Dee shoved Sokka, he accidentally backed into Aang, causing him to accidentally spill some water all over a woman.

"Sorry! Please don't shout!" Aang apologized before using Airbending to dry her off, but also blowing her clothes a bit; causing the Turtles to grimace as his hat fell off, revealing his Air Nomad tattoos.

"What are you doing, stupid!?" Raph screamed into his comn to Aang, hurting his eardrums.

"The Avatar…" The woman breathed in amazement. "I didn't know the Avatar would be here."

This caught the attention of pretty much every guest in the chamber as they all set their eyes on Aang.

"Aw shell." Mikey cussed as he, Raph and Don face-palmed where as Leo grimaced a bit.

"There goes our cover." Don grimaced.

Aang awkwardly waved to the group. Thinking fast though, Leo quickly contacted him. "Aang, put on a show. Entertain them, the rest of us will look for the Earth King."

Aang then followed up on Leo's instructions. "Watch this everybody!" Aang jumped up onto the table. He used Waterbending to bend the drinks out of everyone's cups, which he brought together in a multi-colored liquid sphere, much to the guests', even the bear's, delight.

Zuko and Jet continued their sword fight, which gathered the attention of everyone in the surrounding neighborhood. They got back-to-back and continued to collide their respective blades against each other. Two Dai-Lee agents soon walked onto the scene.

"Drop your weapons!" One of them ordered.

Jet ceased his fighting and jumped back to the two agents. "Arrest them!" He pointed to Zuko and Iroh. "They're Firebenders!"

"This poor boy's confused." Iroh said to the agents. "We're just simple refugees."

"This young man wrecked my teashop and assaulted my employees!" The shop owner pointed out.

"It's true sir." The police officer from before added. "We saw the whole thing, this crazy kid attacked the finest tea-maker in the city."

Iroh blushed at that. "Oh that's very sweet."

The two Dai-Lee agents approached Jet. "Come with us son."

Jet swung his sword toward that agent, but he caught it in some kind of rock-glove. They pinned Jet's hands behind his back and bent the rocks from their gloves around his wrists, creating a form of handcuffs.

"You don't understand! Their Fire Nation! You have to believe me!" Jet exclaimed as the agents dragged him to their carriage. They threw him in the back and closed the door before riding off.

Smellerbee and Long Shot, who saw the whole thing, manage to slip away into a nearby alleyway.

Back at the party.

Multiple guards carried a large paladin holding a man inside, this caught the attention of the still-hidden-Turtles

"Hey bros, I think we found him." Mikey pointed out. They all saw it.

"If that's not the king, I don't know who is." Don said.

Leo was able to contact Aang via comns. "Aang, the Earth King is spotted at your twelve o'clock."

Aang heard Leo's message. He stopped his spectacle and formed an Air-Scooter and began to ride on the table towards the Earth King. "Greetings your majesty!" He said with a cheery smile.

The guards however soon lifted the paladin and began to carry it away.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Raph questioned. "Something's not right."

Leo looked down. "I think you might be right Raph." They all looked down below as two Dai-Lee agents grabbed Sokka from behind, and carried him off. Another agent launched his rock gloves towards Toph, one covered her mouth and the other grabbed her shoulder as they pulled her away; the same thing happened to Katara a few seconds later.

"That can't be good." Don said.

Leo contacted Aang again. "Aang, fall back now!"

"Huh?" Aang questioned as he came to the end of the table and was greeted by a different man.

"Avatar, it is a great honor to meet you. I am Long Feng, grand secretariat of Ba-Sing-Se and head of the Dai-Lee. I'd like to talk to you, your friends will be waiting for us in the library."

Long Feng began to walk with Aang following him.

"Oh." He continued. "And you also may wish to invite your other friends. You know, the ones hidden in the shadows? In the ceiling above?"

That caught the Turtles by surprise.

"He knew?!" Mikey questioned.

"So this guy's head of the Dai-Lee huh?" Don stated.

"I knew there was something fishy about him." Raph said.

Leo couldn't help but give a contemplating glare at this whole situation.

Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph stood with Leo, Don, Raph, and Mikey; who still bore their hooded robes as they faced Long Feng who sat in front of an eerie green fire place. The door was closed behind them. Raph had a hand on one of his concealed sais in case things turned south.

"Why wont you let us talk to the king?!" Sokka demanded. "We have information that can defeat the Fire Nation!"

"The Earth King has no time to get involved in political squabbles and the day-to-day minutia of military activities…"

"You can cut that lame story now." Raph interrupted Long Feng. "I don't know what kind of scam you're pulling here pal, but this isn't a utopia."

"Raph…?" Don tried.

"No, Raph's right." Leo began. "You have Dai-Lee agents in nearly every corner of the city. Normally it would make sense given there's a war going on outside you're doorstep; but you constantly try to hide anything in regards to the war, isolating refugees in the lower ring from everyone else; if I had to guess, I'd say you're trying to keep the entire war a secret from the Earth King. I doubt he even knows there is one, heck I doubt he even makes the decisions around here, and you're the one who's really in charge, am I wrong?"

Long Feng flashed an amused smile. "You're much more clever than I had anticipated."

"So the king is just a figure head." Katara realized.

"He's your puppet!" Toph exclaimed.

"Oh no, no." Long Feng dismissed. "The Earth King is an icon, a god to his people. He can't sully his hands with the hourly changes of an endless war."

"Yep, sounds like a figure head to me." Don said.

"You're the mastermind here!" Mikey pointed out.

"But we found about a Solar Eclipse…" Sokka tried but Raph interrupted him.

"Forget it Sokka, this guy ain't gonna listen. He's so busy trying to keep the war a secret, he won't even bother listening to any kind of advice we have. That's how these control freaks work."

Long Feng didn't like Raph's comment. "'Control freak'? I'm merely trying to maintain order. It is the strict policy of Ba-Sing-Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls. Constant news of an escalating war would throw the citizens of Ba-Sing-Se into a state of panic."

Meanwhile, in an unknown location, Jet was dragged into a dark and small room. He was forced down into a chair and clamped down via rock-restraints.

"You have to believe me! Their Firebenders! They won't stop till they win the war!"

Rocks we're bent on his head to pin him back to the chair.

"Calm down. You're safe now." A Dai-Lee agent in front of Jet said as a lantern began to circle around him.

"Our economy would be ruined. Our peaceful way of life, our traditions would disappear." Long Feng continued.

"There's no war in Ba-Sing-Se." The agent said as the light continued to circle him.

"What are you talking about? Where do you think all the refugees come from? You can't hide it!" Jet said, but for some reason, he couldn't take his eyes off the lantern.

"In silencing talk of conflict, Ba-Sing-Se remains a peaceful, orderly, utopia. The last one on Earth." Long Feng revealed.

Jet's mouth was covered with stone as he was forced to watch the circling light. "There is no war within the walls. Here we are safe, here we are free." Jet's eyes widened as he let these words sink into his mind.

"This place may be orderly, but it is not peaceful." Leo said to Long Feng. "You're ruling through intimidation and fear, you're no different from the Fire Lord."

"Yeah, only that jerk announces that he's the bad guy." Mikey added. "You just cover it up."

"Say what you will, it doesn't change a thing." Long Feng said.

"You can't keep the truth from all these people, they have to know." Katara told him.

"I'll tell them! I'll make sure everyone knows!" Aang stated.

Long Feng stood up. "Until know, you have all been treated as our honored guests. But from no one, you will be watched every moment from Dai-Lee agents."

"Go ahead and send your drones our way, we'll just knock them down." Raph said. "Or better yet." He drew his sais. "We can just take you down right now!"

"Attack a high ranking government official?" Long Feng asked skeptically. "In doing so, you'll become criminals to Ba-Sing-Se, enemies to the Earth Kingdom. Is that really what you want, especially considering you're already enemies to one nation."

Raph growled.

"I also understand that you're looking for your bison. It would be quite a shame if you we're not able to complete your quest." That especially earned a glare from Aang.

"So to be clear, you're black mailing us." Don guessed.

"You make it sound so invasive."

"That's it!" Raph was about to jump forward but Leo stopped him.

"No, not yet." Leo told Raph, one look from his leader's eyes told the red-clad Turtle that Long Feng would get his soon. It seemed to calm Raph down enough for him to put his weapons away.

"Now, Ju-Dee will show you home." Long Feng said as a woman entered the room.

"Wait… what happened to Ju-Dee?" Mikey asked this clearly was a different woman.

"I'm Ju-Dee, I'll be your host during your stay in this wonderful city."

The others then began to leave the library, but the last to leave was Leonardo as he turned to Long Feng.

"I want to make something perfectly clear, Long Feng." The blue-clad Turtle began. "You can try to cover this up all you want, you can try to maintain order, but the more you tighten your grip, the more likely something will slip through your fingers. You'll slip up, sooner or later; all one needs is patience to wait for that moment. And you'll find that there's no one as patient as a ninja."

Leo left as the door closed, leaving Long Feng in the room alone. He looked down to find his right hand shaking and he even found himself sweating a bit as Leo's statement appeared to strike some form of nervousness into this man.

 **Done.**

 **Thank you all for your patience. I hope this chapter is to your liking.**


	8. Tales of Ba-Sing-Se

**Hey everyone. Listen, I know there are some people here (I won't say who) that told me to skip these two chapters (this one and the next one), but I'm gonna change a few things up in those stories a bit so that the TMNT characters are more incorporated with this story. So anyway, lets get started. I own neither franchise.**

 **Tales of Ba-Sing-Se**

 _The Tale of Raph and Toph_

Toph and Raph, who was wearing his dark red hooded robe, we're walking through the streets of Ba-Sing-Se; it was a long and dragging day for these two. Toph gave a loud and highly emphasized yawn, just for the sake of boredom.

"What's up kid?" Raph asked.

"I'm just so bored…" Toph complained. "Seriously, even my boredom is bored!"

"Yeah I here yeah, this city sucks." Raph agreed. "Not to mention we got those lame Dai-Li losers lurking in the shadows."

"Those punks need to be taught a lesson." Toph stated as she punched her right fist into her left palm.

"Oh don't worry, they'll get their dues; them and that Long Feng prick." Raph assured. "But for now, let's find a way to pass the time a bit, an opportunity will present itself."

Toph gave a groan. "Man, what I wouldn't give for some action right now."

"You and me both." Raph soon thought of something. "Say, in the mood for some sparring?"

"Sparring?"

"Yeah, it be a nice way to pass the time, and get a few licks in to." Raph stated.

Toph gave a bit of a grin. "Alright, sounds fun. But where are we gonna go? I doubt there's a place here that contain our awesomeness."

"Don't worry kid, I know the perfect spot."

* * *

 _Five minutes later_

Rocks we're seen flying everywhere in the empty valley that was just outside the inner wall. This spot was perfect, no civilians to see Raph, who currently didn't have his robe, and no Dai-Li goons to spy on them.

Raph leaped up on an incoming rock and jumped onto a tree branch. "You know what I love most about combat practice? Combat." Raph answered his own question as he jumped down to give a kick towards Toph.

Toph fell back to have Raph sore over her. Right when he landed she shot her fist up so that an earth-pillar shot up out of the ground to send Raph flying in the air, he tossed one of his sais in her direction, which she blocked by creating an earth wall, letting it bunch right off.

"You and me both buddy." Toph replied to Raph's statement by sending a few rocks in his direction, which he was able to quickly duck under and cut through with his remaining sai. He swerved in front of her and swept her off her feet, but before she hit the ground she motioned a pillar to rise and stand her up right; rocks shot out from the pillar around her head and towards Raph, forcing him to back flip to avoid them.

Toph shot another rock pillar towards him, and he was able to jump on the pillar itself and leap high into the air.

"Where'd you go…?" Toph said to herself as she couldn't feel him, that is until he landed right behind her.

Raph then grabbed Toph and pinned her to the ground, aiming his sai close to her neck, while also Toph prepared a few earth-spikes towards his chest. After about a minute of this, the two both snickered before they each broke out in laughter.

They both eased themselves while they laughed and sat on their bums on the ground and easing their laughs a bit.

"Now that was fun." Toph said with a wide smile.

"Let's call it a draw, eh kid?" Raph suggested.

"You're the first one to ever get me in a draw, not bad Raph." Toph commented.

"Not bad yourself kid."

They both laid on their backs in relaxation and both gave deep sighs.

"This is the life." Toph said.

"You said it."

"Sure beats my home life." Toph began. "My parents wouldn't let me get outside, let alone do something like this."

"Rough childhood, huh?" Raph guessed.

"That's putting it mildly."

"I can relate." Raph began. "Back home, my brothers and I couldn't even leave the sewers, Master Splinter had us all stay down below for about fifteen years."

"Yeah well, at least from what I hear of him, this Splinter-guy is actually pretty cool." Toph commented.

"The coolest, you'd love him." Raph said. "I never really told anyone this, but he's the coolest dad a turtle can have; sure he's strict but he's looking out for us. I'll always be grateful for that."

"Wish I had a dad like that." Toph said. "All mine did was just keep me locked up, try and make me in his image… like he and mom didn't even try to get to know the real me…"

As Toph continued Raph sat up and looked towards Toph while he listened.

"They just wanted to make me the way _they_ wanted." Toph looked down a bit and it looked like small tears we're in her eyes. "So yeah, 'rough childhood' is only an understatement."

As Toph looked down a bit, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Your folks can go screw themselves." Raph said. "Any parent who doesn't even _try_ to understand their kid isn't worth the effort. They don't know you, but I do."

Toph looked up a bit as Raph continued. "To me, you're the strongest, coolest twelve year old girl the planet, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You're awesome."

"I am?" Toph asked with a slight smile as she perked up.

"Yeah, I mean that." Raph told her with every bit of seriousness in his voice.

Toph smiled at Raph's comment and had a slight blush to. "You're not so bad yourself, you know for a big green turtle."

Raph gave an amused chuckle.

"Thanks Raph." Toph said before giving him a punch in the arm, which the red-clad turtle grinned at.

* * *

 _The Tale of Mikey and Katara_

Katara sat in the house of their current residence in Ba-Sing-Se, looking rather down and somewhat depressed. Depression turned into shock and surprise when Mikey suddenly hung down from the ceiling.

"Booga! Booga! Booga!" Mikey exclaimed, causing Katara to scream and fall over in surprise. Mikey gave a laugh while the less-than-pleased Katara got back up on her feet.

"Mikey! Don't do that! Didn't your mother teach you not to scare people?"

"Nope, don't have a mom." Mikey told her with his smile still present.

Katara groaned. "Whatever just doesn't do that again." She said as she turned around and began to walk away.

"Whoa, what's with the kill-joy attitude?" Mikey questioned. "Just trying to have some fun. What's up with you?"

Katara stopped and sighed. "We finally made to Ba-Sing-Se; after a long journey we finally made it, only to find this whole city is just one big lie!"

"I know, it sucks." Mikey agreed. "But don't worry; we're gonna get that Long Feng creep. Gonna find him and give em the old ninja-noogie." He said as he tried to give Katara a slight noogie but she got out of the grip.

"Sometimes though, a part of me wonders if what we do at all is gonna make a difference?" Katara guessed.

Mikey looked somewhat sympathetic but an idea popped in his head. "Hey, let's forget the heavy stuff right now. I know the perfect way to cheer you up, come on." Mikey then pulled Katara outside.

* * *

A few moments later; the two we're in an underground tunnel. Katara had formed an ice-board and was holding onto Mikey who tied a rope around the front of the board to keep them secure; they we're currently on a small stream of water that was going slow.

"Ew!" Katara said in disgust. "And why are we in the sewers?!"

"They're not so bad." Mikey stated. "I've lived in a sewer most my life; besides this is just a storm-drain, this is only rain water."

"But still, why are we here?"

"For that." Mikey pointed to the end of the tunnel which was a steep vertical decline and the water ran at a much quicker pace; almost like a water fall. Once Katara saw this she gave a wide-eyed look.

"Uh Mikey…" She tried.

"Get ready sister." Mikey told her. "Keep your hands and feet on board the ice-ramp at all times; and prepare for the ultimate thrill ride: Sewer sledding!"

They neared the drop.

"Are we seriously going through with this?!"

"Shell yeah!" Mikey exclaimed right when they dropped. "COWABUNGA!"

At that moment this felt exactly like a water-slide as the two slid down. Mikey was cheering and yelling 'wahoos!' as they rode, while Katara was screaming and holding onto Mikey tightly.

They made many twists and turns all throughout this storm-drain turned water-slide; as they kept moving, with the water and mist coming into their faces; Katara's scream turned into something of a joyous laughter as a smile formed on her face.

Mikey and Katara both laughed as they continued to slide for a few minutes before coming out of a pipe and landing in a lake just outside the inner wall. They both popped out with Mikey spitting out water and both continued to laugh while treading.

"See what I tell ya?"

Katara calmed down a bit. "Okay, okay. I have to admit, that was kinda fun."

"Now there's a smile." Mikey pointed out. "Katara, life does throw a few curve balls and it has its downs; but hey, there's always something fun, always something to get the edge off you."

Katara smiled. "You're even more optimistic than Aang when he first came out of the ice-berg."

"I try to be." Mikey told her. "But when things get serious, I get serious to, so I'm not a _complete_ goofball."

"No, you're only a partially goofball." Katara joked and the two laughed.

"Hmm, jokes; now you're learning."

* * *

 _The Tale of Don and Sokka_

Sokka walked through town, nonchalantly throwing his boomerang, which returned to him. However, with each throw he gets a little more and more frustrated as something seems to be bothering him. On his fifth throw he angrily tosses it, only for it to be caught by Don, who was leaning against a building, still bearing his dark purple robe.

"Hey careful!" Don said. "You can poke an eye out with this thing!" Don told him as he handed Sokka back his boomerang.

"Not in the mood."

"What's eating you up Sokka?" Don asked.

He sighed. "A lot! Okay?! There's a lot bothering me!" Sokka yelled. "We think we're one step ahead of the Fire Nation; then we've got this whole thing with the Dai Li! Geeze can't we just get a break!?"

"They'll get what's coming to them, and we will take the Fire Nation down, but we need patience." Don said. "If we just rush into things without thinking it all through, it ends turning into a disaster; just as Raph, he's got experience with that."

"I always think things through!" Sokka replied. "But why doesn't Leo just come up with a plan if he's so such a good leader?! Seriously?! Who put him in charge! I'm supposed to be the leader!"

"Aw I get, that's what's eating you." Don realized.

"Huh?" Sokka wondered.

"You're upset because you're a tad jealous of Leo, is that it?"

Sokka threw a finger up and opened his mouth, but he couldn't find the words, so he lowered is finger and looked down a bit. "It was the only thing I had going."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just; Aang, Katara, Toph, they're Benders; they've got all this cool stuff; and you guys… you're giant turtles and you got awesome fighting and stealth skills. What do I got? I was the leader at one point, but that's all I had. Leo's just a better leader than I am, so what am I? What place do I have on this team?" Sokka looked down but felt a hand from Don.

"Come on, that's not you're only talent." Don told him. "You got the making's of an engineer."

"Really?"

"Yeah, come on." Don motioned for Sokka to follow him.

The two made it to the house they we're currently staying at. Don laid out some blueprints he brought with him on the table and let Sokka take a look at them.

"What's all this?"

"These are designs for a vehicle back home; the Battle Shell." Don told him. "Take a look."

Sokka took up the schematics and looked at it, he turned it in every which way to get a good look at it, while also hanging his tongue out a bit.

"Wow this is…" Sokka couldn't find the right words, as he was impressed beyond belief. "How this run on it's own? How'd you get so many weapons?... You know… maybe, maybe we can make something like this for the invasion; make our own 'Battle Shell'.

A wide smile formed on Sokka's face, which caused Don to give a knowing grin.

"Yes that's it! With the right stuff, we can make the 'Sokka-Shell'!"

"Well I don't know about the name, but we could make something." Don told him. "And see? Now you get it."

"Get what?"

Don took out his bo-staff. "You see this Sokka?"

"You're staff? What about it?"

"To the average person, this just seems like a stick, so no one would find a worth for it."

"But I've seen you use that." Sokka said. "You kicked major but with that thing. That's no ordinary stick!"

"Exactly." Don pointed out. "Nothing's useless; no one is useless. Everyone's best at something and some people may be more talented at one thing than others, but everyone has something that makes them who they are. I'm a bit of an engineer myself so I know one when I see one."

Sokka smiled. "I think I get it now. I think I understand. You're right Don; with the three of us together, there's nothing that can't stop us!" He said with a renewed sense of confidence.

"'Three' of us?" Don asked.

Sokka put an arm around Don's shoulder and pulled him close. "You, me, and Boomerang!" Sokka pulled out his most trusted companion and had a wide toothy grin on his face while Don just had an amused smile.

"My work here is done."

* * *

 _The Tale of Leo and Aang_

Aang found himself on an empty plain just outside the inner wall. He got up on his air-scooter and soared around in a circle; as he soared, he motioned his left fist upward, which created an earth-wall that would rise up wherever he rode, creating an earth-ring. Once the ring was completed he formed an earth-pillar in the center, which he jumped up on with a boost from his air-scooter. He then pulled water out of a nearby lake. The young Avatar bent the water around him in the form of a ring for a bit until he formed a water-ball, which he sent straight up into the air and dispersed it to create some brief rain for a few seconds.

"Not bad, not bad." Aang looked down to see Leo waling onto the scene. Aang jumped down and use Airbending to cushion his landing.

"Yeah, I think I'm mastering the elements quite nicely." Aang said, with some pride evident in his voice.

"Almost all." Leo said. "I noticed you didn't use any Firebending." Aang's smile vanished. "I mean, I get it, you don't have a Firebending teacher yet, but…"

"I'm never Firebending again." Aang said, much to Leo's surprise.

"What?" Leo asked.

"You heard me, I'm not doing it again."

"Why not?" Leo questioned. "You're the Avatar, the master all _four_ elements. Which means you're not just an Airbender, you're also an Earthbender, Waterbender, and even a Firebender."

"I don't care, I can't do it again." Aang replied. "The last time I Firebent, I burnt Katara."

"Not surprising." Leo said. "Play with fire, you get burnt. But accidents happen, you can't just give up on a martial art just because…"

"It's not just that." Aang began. "Fire burns everything in its path; forests, homes, people; it destroys everything in site. That's something I can't use." Aang looked down in shame.

Leo looked towards the young Avatar. "Aang, listen to me." He turned to the blue-clad turtle. "Fire can be dangerous; but it's not the only danger in the world. The other elements can be just as dangerous to."

"What do you mean?"

"You can drown someone with Waterbending." Leo began to explain. "Not to mention you can create all sorts of weapons from ice; icicles can even stab and kill people."

"Well maybe but…" Aang tried.

"With Earthbending you can cause a cave-in or an avalanche to crush someone. Earthquakes have been known to take lives before." Leo continued

"Okay that's true, but…"

"And hurricanes and tornadoes are deadly forces of nature made from wind and air. Maybe, one could use Airbending to pull the air out of someone's lungs and suffocate them." Leo finished.

"That can't be!" Aang exclaimed, getting Leo's attention. "I mean sure… Waterbending and Earthbending, maybe even Airbending can be dangerous but there's good with them. Water can bring life, earth can protect, and air is the element of freedom for my people."

"My point exactly." Leo revealed, much to Aang's surprise.

"There's a good side and bad side to every element; if those three are capable of bad, then shouldn't fire also be capable of good to?" Leo questioned. "Sure fire can burn and it can hurt; but it can also help. For someone who's trapped on a mountain and may be on the verge of freezing to death, a fire can be their salvation. Fire can light the way in a dark night and give you visibility. And yes there are forest fires, but after that the forest comes back stronger than ever, the fire actually helps make it stronger. Just as fire can be destructive, it can also bring light."

Aang took all these words to heart. "Wow. I guess… I guess I never thought of it that way."

"I understand you're need to be cautious, but you also have to understand that as the Avatar, you need to master Firebending sooner or later. I'm not trying to put pressure on you, I just want to help. It's the same situation for every warrior; he or she must acknowledge the two sides of themselves, both the good and the bad, and choose the path they believe to be right."

Aang still looked down a bit. "Okay, I get it but I still worry a bit I mean… the whole world is resting on my shoulders and I… I don't know if you can do it alone."

Leo put a hand on the young boy's shoulder as he looked up to the sword-wielding turtle. "You're not alone in this Aang; my brothers and I are with you all the way."

A smile formed on Aang's face. "Thanks Leo, I appreciate that more than you'll ever know."

Leo smiled. "So, what do you say we put those bending skills to the test, huh?" Leo drew his swords and took a combat stance.

Aang smiled at this as well. "You're on." He accepted the challenge as he took a bending stance.

The two warriors exchanged confident glances before charging forward and meeting each other in the center with smiles on their faces.

 **Done.**

 **I know it seems kinda short, but I did this chapter because I wanted to highlight a bit the bonds the Gaang shares with the Turtles here. I will also be doing "Appa's Lost Days" after this. I will be changing a few things for that chapter as well; I won't spoil anything, but expect things in this story to be slightly different then they we're in the cannon TV show. Again, thanks for your patience. I hope this chapter is to your liking.**

 **PS, you will see a few more TMNT characters later in this story, but not till we get to Book 3. Just letting you know.**


	9. Appa's Lost Days

**Hey people. Sorry for the wait, anyway here is the next update. From this point forward, expect some minor changes to the Last Airbender storyline so the TMNT characters can better fit into it. I own neither franchise.**

 **Appa's Lost Days**

 _Wong-Shi-Tong Dessert, Four Weeks Ago_

Appa had now been just taken by the Sandbenders; the bison was tied down and was now being dragged by three Sand Sailors. The leader had made a hand motion for them to stop.

"Ransack his saddle!" The leader ordered. "Who knows what treasures are stashed in there."

Two Sandbenders ran towards the bison to carry out their leader's orders, but Appa growled and snapped at them to keep them from getting close.

"He's tied up good, he can't hurt you." The leader said. The two Sandbenders then jumped up onto the saddle, the sand from their jump got into Appa's nose, which caused him to sneeze. The massive gust of wind hit one of the Sand Sailors and sent it flying into a sand dune, burying it.

"What's you're father gonna do when he finds out we lost a Sand Sailor?" One of the Sandbenders asked the young leader as the others we're ransacking the saddle.

"Nothing." The young leader replied. "It's the one we stole from the Hommy Tribe." He turned to the raiders. "Did you empty the saddle?"

Everything was throne on the ground; Sokka's Water Tribe club, Aang's umbrella, some sleeping bags and a few other things.

"That's it?" The young leader questioned as he saw all the items. "Nothing but garbage!" He exclaimed as he kicked away the club. "Doesn't matter. We'll still make a profit from selling him to those beetle-headed merchants."

As he said that, one Sandbender picked up an umbrella and used it to provide himself some shade.

* * *

A few hours later, the Sandbenders pulled the restrained Appa on their remaining two Sand Sailors to a small campsite, where they we're expected by several men dressed in greenish-brown robes, wearing helmets that resembled scarab beetles.

A few merchants took the time to observe the restrained Sky-Bison. "How's his temper?"

"Uh pretty good." The leader of the Sandbenders replied. Right when he said that however, Appa gave a loud roar, startling the merchants, who later gave questionable looks to the Sandbenders. "Most of the time."

One merchant looked to their leader. "I bet someone will pay a fortune for him in Ba-Sing-Se."

The leader of the merchants looked to the Sandbenders. "Alright, you got a deal." He handed them a large chest filled with valuables.

A few moments later, a large beetle-like creature took the ropes around Appa and pulled him onto some form of cart, with more restraints closing around the already restrained Sky Bison.

* * *

 _Elsewhere in the Desert._

"APPA!" Aang called out as he flew on his glider. He blew into his bison-whistle.

* * *

Appa heard Aang's whistle and immediately began to shake loose to try and return to his master.

"He's you're problem now!" The Sandbender leader called to the merchants as he and his fellow Sandbenders rode away on their Sand Sailors.

Appa was able to shake his tail free, which he slapped on the ground and began to take off into the air, accidentally taking the large beetle with him.

"We need the Shirshu-Spit Darts!" One merchant exclaimed as their prize was trying to break free.

"Got em!" Another merchant replied as he took it and a blow-tube out. He loaded one dart in. "Okay big fella, you're about to take a nice little snooze." He blew the dart, which hit Appa in one of his legs.

The Sky-Bison then fell to the ground as the Shirshu venom began to enter his system.

* * *

Aang landed on a sand dune and called out to his bison again. "APPA!" He heard no response and feared the worse. "No. NOOOOO!" He slammed his staff on the ground with Airbending and created a mushroom cloud.

* * *

Appa saw said mushroom cloud as he felt drowsy and began to loose consciousness. The merchants surrounded him as his vision began to fade.

"We've got to get rid of this one, he's too much trouble!"

"We could sell him for parts."

* * *

Sometime later, Appa began to slowly wake up. The mighty Sky Bison was in a massive cage and underneath what appeared to be a Fire Nation circus tent.

"Aw, I understand you've had a rather hard time lately." The circus trainer told the bison as he woke up. "That's too bad. You probably felt you had no choice but to behave… outrageously. Like a wild animal." The trainer walked up towards Appa's face and patted his fur. "But don't worry, you won't anymore. Because I am going to break you."

Some time later, the circus trainer began to deliver cabbages to feed many of the other caged animals. He gave one cabbage to a platypus-bear. He rolled past Appa, who got up, only to realize his feet we're chained and he couldn't move too much. Appa tried to naw at the chains but didn't even scratch them. He looked to see the trainer feed some sort of griffon-like creature a cabbage. Appa then began to drool, which was noticed by the trainer.

"Hungry?" He asked as he turned to Appa. "Don't worry I'm gonna feed you to." He held out a cabbage, but quickly pulled it back before Appa could get to it. "But not yet."

He walked towards the griffon's cage. "First, I'm going to show you how you'll earn it." He opened the cage. The griffon then took to the air.

The trainer, as he was a Firebender, created a fire-whip and snapped it towards the griffon. As the trainer tended to the griffon, Appa used this time to inhale, creating a vacuum to pull in the cabbages, allowing him to eat some.

The griffon flew in and over the many hoops that hung in the tent. It reached the smallest one before taking it in its jaws and throwing it down to the trainer, who caught it, and didn't yet notice Appa eating the cabbages. "Of course when you preform, the hoops will be flaming. And if you're careful, you won't get burned."

He heard Appa burp. He turned to the bison with an angry look. "You're about to be sorry." He created a fire-whip and snapped it at Appa, creating a firewall in front of the cage and scarring Appa. "It's obvious who you're previous performer was, he had no idea how to handle you properly." Appa glared at the trainer.

* * *

 _Later that night._

The circus was crowded and filled with people. A young boy passed by a tent and looked at Appa who tried to pull in a stack of hay with his breath. Appa looked towards the boy, who took a liking to the bison.

The boy's father walked up from behind. "I'm gonna go bet a bag of sizzle-crisps. Stay here and stay away from that monster. Behave yourself, or you'll regret it." He walked away, letting the boy turn back to the bison.

He quickly ran in and rolled up the stack of hay towards Appa. The bison gave the boy a grateful lick before taking and eating the hay. The boy saw two people coming and ran outside; the trainer and the ringmaster of the circus.

"He's a difficult creature." The trainer began to explain to the ringmaster. "Stubborn and willful. I need more time with him. It's too risky right now."

"'Too risky'?!" The ringmaster questioned. "What are you talking about? This is the circus, home of fear and danger!" He pointed to Appa. "I want the Wind Buffalo to perform tonight!" The ringmaster then began to walk away.

The trainer turned towards Appa. "If you don't behave yourself…" he created a flame in his hand, scaring Appa. "…You'll regret it!" He walked away.

The boy looked at all of this and still managed to give a smile towards Appa, who looked back at him, taking a small liking to this boy. "Let's go." The father told the boy as he pulled him away.

"See you later buddy." The boy waved to the bison as he was pulled away.

* * *

Some time later, the circus had finished up one performance, resulting in an uproar from the audience. In the audience, the boy tried to reach for some popcorn, but the father pulled it away, hogging it for himself.

The ringmaster walked onto the center stage. "Ladies and gentleman." He began. "Now for something truly special." He created two flames in his hand. "A noble beast, so magnificent and rare, it hasn't been seen by human eyes for generations! I give you, the Wind Buffalo!" He created a firey-blast to illuminate the area.

A curtain was pulled back to reveal Appa, who was dressed flamboyantly, almost like a clown. Most of the audience laughed at the poor bison, but the boy from before could only look on with sympathy at this animal's poor treatment.

The trainer walked with Appa to the center of the tent. "Up." The trainer said as he raised his hands, but Appa only scratched himself and turned around in a circle, earning some giggles and chuckles from the audience. "Up you insolent cow!" The trainer snapped another fire-whip at him.

The boy didn't like this one bit. "Run away! Get away from him!" He told the bison, only to be pulled back from his father.

The trainer snapped the fire-whip again and Appa took to the air, much to the audience's delight except for the boy. Appa then began to fly in and around many flaming hoops, however, once he flew through a smaller hoop, the flames touched his side. In a startled fashion, he smacked a flaming hoop down with his tail. The ring hit the trainer in the head, resulting in the audience laughing. Appa landed and saw the boy laugh at the trainer's misfortune, this boy's laugh reminded the bison of Aang's laugh.

That was enough for Appa to shake off much of his silly clothing. He looked and saw the boy again. "Go. You can do it." Appa took this boy's words to heart and attempted to fly away, but a fireball from the trainer prevented him from leaving.

"Get back here you stupid beast!" The trainer exclaimed as he created another fire-whip. Appa came down and smacked the trainer with his tail and sent him flying. Appa was able to fly out of the tent and tear off much of the clothes around him. The boy saw this and smiled, happy for the bison.

* * *

Appa flew for many hours, maybe even a full day; he still had the chains around his legs that limited his movement with his feet. Appa soared through the sky to the last place he saw Aang, the Wong-Shi-Tong desert. The sun was beginning to rise as Appa flew to the sand crater that used to be the entrance to the Library. He flew in the sand crater and looked around. He saw nothing and gave a disappointed grown before resting a bit in the crater.

Appa began to fly through the massive desert in search for his beloved master. His massive stomach growled, as he hadn't eaten anything in about a day. He saw an egg nearby and tried to eat it, but a salamander-like creature snatched it before he could get to it. Appa looked and saw a cactus. He immediately bit on it, but the thorn stung his tongue so he spat it out in pain.

The sun had now fully risen and the heat began to set in on the hungry and lonely bison. His noose caught sent of something possibly edible. He flew towards a massive rock and into a giant hole, where he began to eat some of the slime off the wall. A few seconds later, he was chased out of the hive by many angry vulture-wasps. When he gained enough distance, Appa sent an airwave with his tail that hit the vulture wasp and sent them falling to the ground. The vulture-wasps immediately flew back to their hive.

Appa sat down and tried to lick some of the sap of his fur, as it was better than nothing at this point. He laid down in exhaustion.

* * *

A few hours later, the sun had set and night had fallen. Appa had made it out of the dessert; his fur was mangled up and dirty. He set his eyes down on a farm. He flew down and walked into a barn; where he drank some water from a tub and ate a whole stack of hay in just a few bites. Appa then laid down on the ground and fell to sleep.

* * *

As he slept, Appa dreamt of an old memory years ago at the Eastern Air Temple; when he was only a cub. Many small bison-cubs flew around their mother bison and nuzzled them.

An Air-Nomad woman held a basket of apples, which was taken by many little Air-Nomad boys, including a six-year-old Aang.

"Choose well." The woman told them. "A Sky-Bison is a companion for life."

All the bison cubs and their mother set down as the young boys approached them. The six-year-old Aang walked up towards the cub that was to be named Appa. Aang smiled as he handed him the apple. The cub sniffed the apple a bit before eating it. He then nuzzled his head against Aang and licked him.

"I guess this means we'll always be together." The young Aang said as he was licked by Appa, resulting in him laughing.

* * *

 _Serpent's Pass, night._

The Gaang, the Turtles, and the family they we're escorting had made camp. The sleeping Aang had given a slight laugh, not disturbing the others as they we're sleeping, as he was having the same dream.

"Always." Aang said as he slept with a smile.

One who noticed this was Leo who looked on with one eye open and gave a slight smile as well.

* * *

The sleeping Appa was awoken by a scream. "It's some kind of monster!" The farmer yelled as he pointed his pitchfork at him. Appa got up and growled at the farmer. The farmer's wife walked in with a torch.

As soon as Appa saw the flame, his fear set in. He stood up on his back legs and backed towards the wall, while groaning and roaring in fear; resulting in the farmer and his wife screaming and running out of the barn. Appa flew out of the barn, smashing through the ceiling and flying away as fast as he could.

As the bison flew through the air, he didn't notice that he was spotted from a cliff by two Foot Ninja scouts.

"A flying bison? Isn't that the Avatar's pet?" One ninja questioned.

"We must inform the master." The second ninja replied before the two jumped down off the cliff and vanished in the darkness.

Appa had, by chance, just flown over the Serpent's Pass. The Sky-Bison had now flown over the ferry, that Iroh and Zuko we're riding. Iroh saw the bison and recognized it instantly, giving a faint gasp.

Zuko was slightly woken up. "Uncle, what are you looking at? Is there something out there?"

"Uh… it's nothing, go back to sleep." Iroh said to Zuko, who seemed to buy it as he resumed his slumber, resulting in Iroh giving a sigh of relief.

Appa had now flown towards a forest, with a tree growing over some form of stone hut. Appa set down in front of the hut in the form of a crash-landing, as he was beyond exhausted. He began to eat some of the grass, but not before another animal's roaring squeal caught his attention. Out of the hut came a massive animal that bore the appearance of a boar mixed with a porcupine. The boar tackled Appa and the two rolled down a hillside.

Once they tumbled on the bottom, the two animals begun to slowly circle each other Appa had many of the boar's quills sticking out of him. The boar roared and Appa roared back. The boar rammed Appa, creating a trail in the ground, and smacked him into a tree, causing it to tumble over.

Appa took the tree in his mouth and threw it at the boar, scoring a direct hit. Once the tree landed, the boar jumped up over it and charged at Appa again, who stood on his back legs. Appa took to the boar in his front paws and smashed the boar against the ground before throwing it, creating a large train of destruction through the forest. The boar ran away, giving up the possibility of winning this fight.

Appa regained his breath and tried to remove one of the quills, but gave a painful roar as it hurt. Appa then flew back up the hillside and into the stone hut and fell asleep.

* * *

 _Foot campsite_

Oroku Saki stood in the large tent and looked upon the map of the Earth Kingdom, more specifically, Ba-Sing-Se.

The two Foot Ninja scouts quickly came in and bowed before their master.

"Master Shredder." They both greeted.

"What is it?"

"We believe we have found the Avatar's steed, the flying bison." One Ninja informed him.

"Is that so?" Saki asked. "Did you find the Avatar? The Turtles?"

"No Master." The second Ninja replied. "Just the bison. Perhaps the Avatar lost it."

"How is this important to me?" Saki questioned.

"If the Avatar lost his pet, then he is likely looking for it." The first Ninja began. "If that is the case, the Turtles are likely with him. The bison is the perfect bait to lure them to us."

Shredder gave a slight smile at this. "Good. Send the Elite Ninja, find this animal and bring it to me."

"Yes Master Shredder."

* * *

 _A few days later_

Suki, as well as five other of her Kyoshi Warriors we're in the forest, picking berries and searching for food. One warrior spotted some torn white fur on the bush and took a look at it.

"Must have been some fight."

Suki saw the fur. "Wait, let me see that." She took a look at the fur and almost recognized it. Suki then looked up at a trail of destruction uphill and saw more fur. "No, it couldn't be."

Suki walked up the trail and climbed up the hill. Once she was at the top, she saw the stone hut and the bison that was in it. She gave a slight gasp. "Appa? Oh no." She said as she saw the poor condition the bison was in.

Appa saw the girl and gave a growl, backing away as the ordeal on him had quite the effect. Suki walked a bit towards the hut with a look of sympathy on her face. Suki slowly set down a few berries and an apple in front of the hut for the bison.

"It's going to be okay Appa." Suki said. "I have to leave, but I'm going to be back soon with help." She went back down the hill, while Appa looked at the food she left behind.

A few minutes later, Suki was addressing her five Kyoshi warriors just below the hill and out of Appa's eyesight.

"No sudden movements." Suki began. "He's been lost for a while and it looks like he's hurt. He's shy around people and scared. Stay low, and stay quiet."

"I can't believe you found the Avatar's bison." One Kyoshi warrior said. "Didn't you just see the Avatar a few days ago?"

"Yes, so he can't be too far from here." Suki replied. "It's our responsibility to get Appa back to him safely." She said as she and the warriors climbed up the hill. "This could be our most important mission yet."

Appa looked and saw the Kyoshi Warriors, he growled as he backed further into the hut.

"Give him some space!" Suki told her warriors, who backed up. Suki then turned towards the bison. "Appa, it's me Suki. I'm a friend." Appa still gave a defensive growl as Suki slowly approached him. "I wanna help you, you're hurt. We can help you feel better." Appa still growled a bit. "And we can help you find Aang." That name caused Appa to calm down a bit. Suki slowly placed a hand on his large noose, he slowly set down, putting his trust in this girl.

* * *

A few moments later; things we're looking good for Appa. The Kyoshi Warriors removed the chains and the quills from him. They also apparently fed him and cleaned his fur. He gave one of them a lick, which caused her to giggle. However, Appa noticed something that made him growl off to the side.

Suki and the other Kyoshi Warriors looked to a tree-branch and saw what he was growling at.

Standing on a tree-branch we're four heavily armed warriors. They bore black sleeveless-suits with arm-guards, red boots, saucer hats, red capes that flowed in the wind, which also wrapped around their lower faces, concealing them except for their red eyes. They each had a brown belt, which bore a Foot symbol. Each one bore a different weapon; a trident, a spear, an axe, and a twin-bladed-sword. These we're the Shredder's deadliest warriors, the Foot Elite.

The Elite Ninja jumped down from the branch and landed gracefully on the ground facing the Kyoshi Warriors; each of them drew their war-fan and a circular shield.

"Who are you? What do you want with us?" Suki demanded.

"We are here for the Bison. Hand it over to us." One Elite Ninja told them.

The Kyoshi Warriors each made defensive stances.

"Who are they? They don't look like Fire Nation." One warrior spoke to the others.

"These children defend the bison, and are likely allies of the Avatar and the Turtles." One Elite Ninja spoke to another.

Suki's eyes widened slightly. _'Turtles?'_ She regained her composure. "If you're looking for the Avatar, you're out of luck."

"The Avatar is not here, and neither are the Turtles most likey." One Elite Ninja said to the others.

"Our orders are to capture the bison." Another Elite Ninja began. "However, if these children are allies of the Avatar, perhaps the master may find a use for them. Capture them!"

The Elite Ninja each drew their respective weapon and charged forward; while the Kyoshi Warriors clashed towards them as well.

Appa was about to clash against the enemy, but Suki stood in front while her warriors held off the Foot Elite. "No Appa! Fly away from here! Find Aang!" Suki turned back to the fight. "GO! NOW!"

Appa gave a growl, but knew she was right. With a regretful growl, Appa took to the air and flew away from the battle.

One Elite knocked a Kyoshi Warrior away to see Appa leave the scene.

"This Bison has fled!"

"Leave it be!" Another Elite Ninja replied. "Capture these children, they may have more value!"

With that the Suki and her Kyoshi Warriors clashed against the Foot Elite. One Kyoshi Warrior gave a flying kick to the Elite with the trident, while it did make contact, he rolled back and landed on his feet before swiping the trident, which she was barley able to avoid with a limbo; but he gave a fierce kick that sent her flying towards a tree.

The Elite with the spear charged forward at two Kyoshi Warriors while they both swung their fans at him, but he jumped up and landed on their fans, his feet pining them to the ground, letting him swing his spear to sweep them off their feet.

Another Kyoshi Warrior found herself on the defensive end as she used her shield to block the relentless assault of the Elite Ninja with the axe. She found herself back into a tree and locking her shield against his axe, the two seemed to be in a standoff with their respective tools, though the Elite clearly had the advantage. While she struggled, another one of her fellow Kyoshi Warriors tried to attack from behind with her war fan, but the Elite saw this coming and used his free hand to grab her wrist and use her like a club to slam her into the previous Kyoshi Warrior.

Suki meanwhile found herself facing the Elite with the twin-bladed-sword. At first she was on the defensive with the shield. He kicked her shield away, but she jumped back with her war-fan in her right hand and took her katana in her left hand and charged forward. They clashed their respective blades and locked their weapons as they glared at each other.

"How do you know the Turtles?!" Suki questioned.

"So you've met them." The Elite Ninja responded.

"Answer me!" Yelled as she tried to kick him but he vanished in a plum of smoke, much to her shock. She turned around to see the smoke again and him swinging his twin-bladed-sword, putting her on the defensive end.

"You asked who we we're." The Elite Ninja recalled. "We are the vanguard of your world's new Lord and Master." He announced as the other Elite Ninja stood by his side. Suki stood along side her Kyoshi Warriors as she and they each tried to regain their breaths, as they have never faced an opponent like this. "We are the Foot!"

With that, the Foot Elite charged forward again with the Kyoshi Warriors.

* * *

Meanwhile, Appa continued to fly. He did feel bad about leaving them all behind, but he knew he had to fly to try and reach Aang. At this point, he wasn't sure where he was going. He flew over a large river as the sun began to set. Appa flew for what seemed like days and even flew through a rainstorm, over what appeared to be Water Tribe boats, and was even spotted by Hakoda.

Appa had managed to fly through a mountain valley and was even able to find the ruins of the Eastern Air Temple; his old home as a baby before moving with Aang to the Southern Air Temple.

Appa took the time to roam around what was left of his old home. He didn't quite expect to find anyone as who did live here have been dead for about a century, courtesy of Fire Lord Sozin. Appa remembered his days as a cub, running through these halls with his other bison cubs. He continued to wonder and even found the old teething ring that he and the other cubs used to chew on. Appa actually tried to chew on it, but ended up coughing dust.

Appa would wonder around this temple for most of the night, and even when dawn started to approach. He wondered onto a balcony and saw a man there, a bald man meditating. Appa's eyes widened with joy as he assumed this was Aang. Appa leapt onto him and began to lick him repeatedly. Appa stopped to see that this was not in fact Aang, but someone else entirely.

Despite being surprised, the man smiled. "Hello. I am Guru Pahtik."

Appa looked with surprise before backing up a distance and growled at the guru as he sat up.

"I know I'm not the person you expected." Pahtik said. "And I didn't expect to be licked by a giant tongue just now." He said in a slight laugh. "The world is full of surprises."

Appa growled, making it clear he didn't trust him. Pahtik understood and lay on his back.

The sun had risen, as it was mid-morning now, Appa didn't move from his position. Pahtik tried to get up by raising his head, resulting in Appa growling again. Pahtik laid his head back, letting himself be patient with the situation.

It was mid day as more hours passed. Pahtik opened one eye, Appa growled again, and Pahtik lay back down.

Night had now fallen and Appa had fallen asleep, lying on his side. Pahtik manage to get up on his feet. He walked towards Appa and placed a hand on the sleeping bison's belly.

"Oh dear. You've been through so much recently. Hurt and betrayed, so twisted up inside." Pahtik felt a little more around his belly. "You're still full of love." He sighed however. "But fear has moved in where trust should be. I've been expecting you and the young Avatar for quite some time. I had a vision many years ago of helping him. That's why I came to the Eastern Air Temple." Pahtik saw Appa groan in his sleep as though the bison we're having a nightmare.

"Oh, you're emotions are so turbulent. Like swirling storm clouds." Pahtik placed his hand on Appa's forehead. "Let the clouds in you're mind be gentle, peaceful ones." This seemed to work, as Appa had appeared to calm down in his sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Appa woke up to find some fruit laid out in front of him. He took the fruit without hesitation. He turned around to find some fruit in the form of a trail, leading into the temple, which he followed while eating.

Appa followed this trail outside to a small hilltop, where Pahtik was mediating, surrounded by many birds and squirrels. He saw Appa come up. "Someone looks very well rested, judging by you're bedhead."

Appa gave a groan as he shook his head and his fur straightened out.

* * *

Later that night, while Pahtik was meditating, Appa walked behind him. He set down behind him, showing that he trusted the Guru now, something he smiled at as he stood up. Pahtik patted his belly as he took a note he had written and walked up to the bison's head.

"I have prepared a message for Aang, may I attach it to you're horn?"

Appa gave a groan, indicating yes. Guru Pahtik tied the message around Appa's left horn.

"You and the Avatar's energies are mixed. You have an unbreakable bond." Pahtik placed his index and middle finger on Appa's head. "By reading you're energy, I can sense where Aang is."

Appa gratefully licked Pahtik in response to that.

"Funny what invisible strings connect us all." Pahtik placed his hand on Appa's forehead and began to feel his energy, as well as Aang's. By doing this, Appa immediately knew where to find Aang. "I'll see you again great beast."

* * *

Appa flew through the night sky above the city of Ba-Sing-Se. However, as he flew, two Dai-Li agents spotted him.

The bison continued to fly and search the city for his master, he soon heard a familiar whistle. He believed this to be Aang's whistle and flew in that direction. He set down somewhere in the Lower Ring area and ran to the sound.

However, what the bison didn't know was that this was not Aang, as he laid asleep in the house he and his friends we're staying at.

Appa followed the whistle and into an alleyway. But the bison looked in surprise to see that it was actually Long Feng blowing the whistle. Before the bison reacted, Long Feng used his Earthbending to turn over the ground, pulling Appa underground. The Sky Bison was now in the hands of the enemy.

Four individuals spotted this. The moonlight showed the silloutes of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo who could only glare at the place they saw Appa once stood.

* * *

Suki was thrown into a red tent. Her hands we're tied behind her back; while rope was wrapped around her upper body, binding her arms to her person. Her ankles we're also tied together, and she had a cloth wrapped tightly over her mouth to keep her from speaking. The other five Kyoshi Warriors we're all bound in the same way and we're dropped in the tent.

Suki struggled up to glare at the four Foot Elite, who bowed on their knees.

"What is this?"

The bound Kyoshi Warriors looked to see Oroku Saki, as well as Karai approach the Elite, Suki could only assume this was their leader.

"I asked for the Avatar's pet, and you bring me these children?" Saki questioned.

"Master Shredder, these are allies of the Avatar, they call themselves the Kyoshi Warriors, and their leader seems to have made contact with the Turtles." One Elite Ninja informed.

"Is that so?" Saki asked.

"Father." Karai began. "We do know the Turtles and the Avatar are in Ba-Sing-Se, and while the drill did indeed penetrate the outer wall, we know nothing of the layout of the city."

"True." Saki admitted. He looked down at the bound Kyoshi Warriors, Suki specifically, who could only glare at him. "Have Azula and her friends returned?"

"Yes father." Karai replied.

"Excellent." Oroku Saki said. "Karai, I have a special assignment for you and them. A very important mission for you to undertake."

 **Done.**

 **Hopefully this chapter is to you're liking. I'll see you soon with the next chapter.**


	10. Lake Laogai

**Hello everyone. I apologize for the wait. Anyway, here's the next part to World's Collide. As I've said before, expect a few minor changes to the cannon Avatar plot. I hope you all enjoy this.**

 **Lake Laogai.**

Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo searched through the sewers of Ba-Sing-Se. They ran through the water of the sewers at quick speeds, wearing their dark robes to conceal their faces from any Dai-Li agents that may be hidden down there. While they ran, they discussed what they saw the previous night.

"Long Feng has Appa." Leo said.

"But where's he got em?" Mikey asked. "That bison is huge, where can anyone hide him?"

"Long Feng and his Dai Li are all Earthbenders, so they could have hidden him anywhere in the city." Don guessed. "Plus being Earthbenders gives you an advantage when covering you're tracks."

"I hope we find Long Feng first." Raph spoke. "Just so I can beat the shell out of that control freak."

"You may get your chance Raph. Lets' keep looking." Leo said as they continued to run through the sewers.

* * *

 _Team Avatar residence_

While the Turtles we're in the sewers, Sokka was busy painting pictures of Appa; all of which looked like the work of a five-year-old child. While he did this, Toph laid flat out on the floor, with Momo licking her feet.

Aang and Katara soon entered the house. "We found a printer to make our posters." Katara said as she held out one of the posters, which showed an identical picture of the lost bison, Aang pointed to the picture and gave an approving nod.

"Hey, I thought designing the lost Appa poster was my job." Sokka protested. "I've been working all day on my Appa." He showed one of his drawings.

Katara giggled at the bad drawing while Appa just face-palmed. "Sokka, the arrow is on Appa's head."

"This _is_ his head." Sokka pointed out.

Katara took a look at the picture. "Why are feet coming out of it?" She asked with a bit of a laugh.

Sokka swiped the picture back. "Those are his horns!" He hung his head down. "I haven't seen him in a while, okay?"

"It looks just like him to me." Toph said.

"Thank you I worked really…" Sokka thanked but then remembered Toph was blind. "Why do you feel the need to do that?"

"Let's just stick with the professional version." Katara told him, which resulted in Sokka tearing up his drawing in frustration.

Aang looked around the house. "Hey where are Leo, and the others?"

"Said something about a sewer-run." Sokka answered. "Probably missing their own sewers. Seriously, why live in a sewer though?"

"Can't really blame them." Toph pointed out. "How often do you see four walking, talking Turtles."

"Good point." Sokka replied.

"Come on, let's get busy!" Aang said in an eager tone, holding out multiple posters.

* * *

Within a few minutes, Aang flew over the city of Ba-Sing-Se on his glider with Momo by his side, letting the posters fall from his sack all over the city, hopping someone would catch them.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Lower Ring, at the Tea Shop Zuko and Iroh we're working at; Zuko and Iroh continued to serve tea. They brought some tea to two individuals at the shop; one was a well-built man in a red shirt and blue pants; the other was rather short and wore a brown hooded robe. Unknown to the two Firebenders, these we're two individuals from another world; Master Splinter and Casey Jones.

Both we're given their tea and sipped it. Splinter took a liking to it. "I must say, I've never tasted tea quite like this. You must be quite the craftsman." Splinter complemented Iroh.

Iroh gave an amused chuckle. "Oh thank you. I'm just a humble tea-maker."

"I thank you for your service." Splinter said with a bow as he stood up. "Come along Casey."

Casey got up when he saw Zuko passed by. "Hey kid." He said, getting his attention. "That's some scar you got. What happened?"

Zuko was somewhat surprised that someone asked him about his scar. "It's not really any of your business."

"It's cool, I get it; personal stuff." Casey understood. "I'm guessing though some kind of bully did that, huh?" Zuko didn't give a response. But Casey put a hand on the teen's shoulder. "I understand, I've got a thing about bullies to. Don't let em push you around; someone knocks you down, push back." Casey patted Zuko's shoulder with a smile as he left the shop with Master Splinter.

Once outside, the two started talking. "We searched all over this town and we ain't found any sign of the guys." Casey said.

"Often when you cannot see what is right in front of you, you're goal is hidden underneath you're nose." Splinter replied.

"What?" Casey didn't understand.

"It means they're hear somewhere." Splinter translated. "Though this is a rather unique world they are in."

"I'll say." Casey stated. "A 100-year long war, elemental Kung Fu, seriously this is messed up."

"Though it seems you have taking a liking to that young man in that tea-shop." Splinter pointed out.

"Yeah, that scar-face kid kinda reminds me of myself in a way. I got a feeling there's more to him than meets the eye." Casey said with a bit of a smile before the two walked off.

* * *

Back in the shop, Iroh continued to serve tea to other customers. One well-dressed customer took a liking to it. He stood up and addressed Iroh.

"So you're the genius behind this incredible brew. The whole city is buzzing about it! I hope Pao pays you well." The man said, who was apparently a businessman.

"Good tea is it's own reward." Iroh replied.

"But it doesn't have to be the _only_ reward." The businessman said. "How would you like to have your own tea-shop?"

"My own tea shop?!" Iroh repeated. "This is a dream come true!"

Pao overheard this. "What's going on here?!" He questioned the businessman. "Are you trying to pouch my tea-maker?!"

"Sorry pal, but that's business for you, am I right?"

Pao turned to Iroh. "Mushi, if you stay I'll… make you assistant manager! Wait… _Senior_ assistant manager."

"I'll provide you a new apartment in the upper ring." The businessman proposed to Iroh. "The tea-shop is yours to do whatever you want, complete creative freedom."

"I even get to name the shop?" Iroh asked.

"Of course."

Pao tried desperately to keep Iroh. "Uh… Senior _executive_ assistant manager?" Iroh handed his teapot to Pao as a sigh of his resignation. He bowed to the businessman, accepting the offer. Pao walked away with a dejected look on his face.

Zuko walked by. "Did you hear nephew?" Iroh asked. "This man wants to give us our own tea-shop in the Upper Ring of the city!"

"That's right young man. You're life is about to change for the better."

"I'll try to contain my joy." Zuko said sarcastically as he walked outside to take a break.

Once outside, Zuko leaned back near the door. A piece of paper soon fell down near him. Zuko took it and looked at the picture of Appa on it with wide eyes. He walked around and looked towards the sky to see where it could have come from.

Zuko managed to climb onto a rooftop where he saw more posters falling and blowing in the wind. He looked at the poster he had in his hands and had a pretty good idea of what this meant.

* * *

 _Team Avatar's residence._

Katara and Sokka sat at a table playing some form of solitaire-based game with tiles. Toph laid on her back near a wall, nonchalantly bouncing a rock against the wall over and over.

Aang just walked in. "I just finished dropping all the leaflets. Has anyone come in with news about Appa?"

"It's only been about a day, just be patient." Katara told him.

"Won't work." A voice spoke out, getting everyone's attention. The voice came from Leo as he dropped in from the ceiling alongside Raph, Mikey, and Don.

"Where have all you been?" Katara asked.

"In the sewers." Mikey answered. "Looking for Appa."

"Why would he be there?" Sokka questioned. "He's a _Sky_ -bison."

"Besides, Appa hates tunnels." Aang said. "But what did you mean when you said this wouldn't work."

"Cause we saw him." Don answered.

"What?!" Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka all said at the same time.

"You saw Appa?!" Aang exclaimed. "Where?! When!?" He asked, excited at seeing his bison back.

"Last night, but so did Long Feng." Raph told them.

"What?" Aang questioned.

"Appa dropped by in the Lower Ring last night." Leo began. "But Long Feng and his Dai-Li we're able to get to him before we could. They pulled him underground."

"So that's why you guys we're in the sewers." Katara realized.

"Yeah, but we didn't find any trace of the fur-ball." Raph replied.

"Long Feng did a good job covering his tracks." Don added.

They soon heard a knock on their door.

"Who could that be?" Mikey asked as he and his brothers all put their hoods back on.

Aang was the first to answer the door. He saw a familiar woman. "Ju-Dee?"

"Hello Aang." She greeted as she stepped in. "And Leonardo, and Katara, and Donatello, and Toph, and Raphael, and Sokka, and Michelangelo."

"What happened to you?" Sokka asked. "Did the Dai-Li through you in jail?"

"I thought you we're killed and tossed into a ditch or something." Raph said.

"What?" Ju-Dee asked as she still had her odd smile. "Jail? Ditch? Of course not. The Dai-Li are the protectors of our cultural heritage."

"Secret police is more like it." Don uttered.

"But you disappeared at the Earth King's party." Toph recalled.

"Oh, I simply took a short vacation to Lake Laogai, out in the country." Ju-Dee explained, while she did Leo gave a very suspicious look towards her. "It was quite relaxing."

"But they replaced you with some other woman who also said her name was Ju-Dee." Katara stated.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Mikey asked.

" _I'm_ Ju-Dee." She said.

"Cut the formalities, what do you want?" Raph questioned.

Ju-Dee took out one of the posters of Appa. "Dropping flyers and posters is not permitted within the city. Not without proper clearance."

"We can't wait around to get permission for everything." Sokka said.

"Listen." Leo said to Ju-Dee. "I know Long Feng sent you here, and we know he has Appa." Ju-Dee looked in surprise at this. "So go tell him that he can either give Appa back willingly, or we'll teach him a lesson ourselves."

Despite this, Ju-Dee still bore her unnatural smile. "You are absolutely forbidden by the rules of the city to confront the Dai-Li or put up posters."

Aang's face was red with anger as he stepped in front of Ju-Dee. "WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RULES!" He yelled with steam coming out of him like a locomotive. "AND WE'RE NOT ASKING PERMISSION!" Aang's arms comically flailed as he yelled. "WE'RE FINDING APPA ON OUR OWN AND YOU SHOULD JUST STAY OUT OF OUR WAY!"

Aang slammed the door in front of Ju-Dee.

"Never seen the kid so steamed." Raph said to Leo. "I'm kinda enjoying it actually." He said with a grin.

"That's probably gonna come back and bite us in the shell." Don commented.

"I don't care." Aang replied. "From no on, we do whatever it takes to find Appa."

"Yeah!" Toph cheered. "Let's break some rules!" She used Earthbending to smash the wall on the side of the house.

"Toph smash." Raph commented with a grin as the two fist-bumped.

The group then walked outside. Once outside, Leo looked to the side on a separate rooftop to see two hidden Dai-Li agents vanish. Leo gave a glare in that direction.

* * *

 _Long Feng's quarters_

"I'm very disappointed in your work with the Avatar and his friends Ju-Dee." Long Feng told her as she kneeled before him. "I had hopped you we're able to control this situation."

"I'm so sorry but they don't trust me anymore." It looked as if Ju-Dee we're about to break into tears. "I don't think I can keep working like this."

"Ju-Dee." Long Feng began. "The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."

Those words ran through Ju-Dee's head. Her pupils changed as the programing set in. "I am honored to accept his invitation." She spoke in an emotionless tone.

"Good. Now go await further orders." Long Feng told her. She bowed and walked out of the chambers, leaving Long Feng with two Dai-Li agents. Long Feng looked towards his green fire.

"So, those four so-called 'spirit warriors' know we have the bison." Long Feng began to tell his Dai-Li agents. "I may have underestimated them. If they and the Avatar continue to cause trouble it could upset the delicate balance we've worked so hard to achieve in this city. It could even cost us control of the Earth King"

"Should we take care of them?" One Dai-Li agent asked.

"No." Long Feng replied. "It's much to dangerous to confront them directly. Let's see if we can still handle this quietly."

* * *

Meanwhile, Iroh began packing some stuff up in the apartment he shared with his nephew, as they we're preparing to move into their new one in the Upper Ring. Zuko soon walked in.

"So I was thinking of names for my new tea-shop." Iroh told Zuko as he was reaching for something in his robes. "How about… 'The Jasmine Dragon'? It's dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it."

Zuko got right to the point as he held out the flyer he found earlier. "The Avatar is here in Ba-Sing-Se, and he's lost his bison."

Iroh took the flyer and had a good idea where Zuko was going to this. "We have a chance for a new life here. If you start stirring up trouble, we could loose all the good things that are happening for us."

"Good things that are happening for _you_." Zuko stated. "Have you ever thought that I wanted more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?!"

"There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity." Iroh told him. "I suggest, you think about what it is that you want from you're life, and why."

"I want my destiny."

"What that means is up to _you_." Iroh told him as Zuko walked away. "The Tea-Weevil!" Iroh fought as a name for his teashop. "No, that's stupid."

* * *

Meanwhile; Leo, Aang, Raph, Sokka, Toph, Mikey, Don, and Katara all stood at one particular spot in the Lower Ring. The Turtles still bore their hooded-robes as they we're in public.

"This was the last place we saw Appa." Leo informed the group. "Toph, can you feel any tunnels or anything that can lead us as to where they took him?"

"Nope." Toph said. "Like you guys said, these guys covered their tracks."

"Alright then, we'll split up to cover more ground." Leo instructed. "Any of you see anything, call the others. And be on the look out for more Dai-Li goons, no doubt they're watching us."

"If I spot any, I ain't running." Raph said. "I'm gonna interrogate the shell out of em." Raph cracked his knuckles.

"That makes two of us." Toph said with an eager smile. "I'm going with Raph."

The group then took off in separate directions.

Katara found herself walking by a small stream and a broken down building. She heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Katara?"

She turned around and gasped at whom she saw.

"I think I can help you." Jet said.

Katara had a look of anger on her face, while her cheeks also blushed. Without another word, she used her Waterbending to pull the water from the stream out and send a massive wave towards Jet.

"Katara, I've changed!" Jet tried, but the wave hit him and sent him into an alleyway. Katara ran to the alley and pulled water up from the puddle.

"Tell it to some other girl Jet!" She said, as she was not going to listen. She sent multiple ice-spikes towards Jet, which he quickly deflected with his hook-swords, though he was backed closer to the wall at the end of the alley.

"I don't want to fight you! I'm here to help!" Jet said as he threw away his hook-swords, much to Katara's surprise. He reached into a pocket on the back, but Katara sent more ice-spikes to pin him to the wall, revealing that he was holding a rolled up piece of paper.

All the others caught up with Katara once they heard the commotion.

"Katara, what is it?" Sokka asked.

"Jet's back."

All set their eyes on him.

"You mean that psycho, hate-mongering, kid you told us about?" Raph questioned.

"I wouldn't say all that about him…" Aang said rubbed his head.

"But didn't this guy try to kill a bunch of people?" Mikey asked.

"You know what we call that? Attempted mass-murder." Raph stated as he and Mikey gave glares to Jet.

"For once I agree Raph." Katara said. "We can't trust anything Jet says."

"We don't know why he's even here though." Don tried.

"I don't care why he's here, whatever the reason is, it can't be good!" Katara replied.

"Yeah, who knows what this pre-teen whack job has up his sleeve." Raph said.

"Hold on!" Leo exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. He turned to the teen. "Jet right?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you here?" Leo questioned.

"I'm here to help you find Appa." Jet revealed as he let the paper he was holding roll out, revealing it as one of the group's flyers.

"Katara, we have to give him a chance." Aang told her.

"Give us a reason why we should trust you." Raph told Jet. "And it better be a good one."

"What he said." Mikey agreed with Raph.

"I swear I've changed." Jet began. "I was a troubled person and I let my anger get out of control. But I don't even have the gang now, I put all that behind me."

"You're lying!" Katara exclaimed, not trusting him.

Toph walked up to the wall Jet was pinned to and put her hand to it. "He's not lying."

"How can you tell?" Don asked.

"I can feel his breathing and heart-beat." Toph explained. "When people lie, there's a physical reaction. He's telling the truth."

"Human lie-detector." Mikey deduced. "Sweet."

"Katara we don't have any other leads." Aang began. "If Jet says he can take us to Appa, we have to check it out."

"The Dai-Li took Appa and covered their tracks, remember?" Raph recalled. "How's this hate-monger gonna know?"

Leo turned to Jet. "How do you know about Appa?"

"I've seen and heard about him. I think I might know where he is." Jet explained.

"Toph?" Leo asked.

"It's the truth."

"Okay." Leo unsheathed his katanas and cut the ice pinning Jet to the wall, releasing him.

"Alright." Katara said before flashing a glare and finger to Jet. "But we're not letting you out of our sight."

Raph also gave a glare. "And there's any tricks…" Raph pointed to his chest. "I'm pounding you so deep into the ground, you'll think you're a fossil."

"Understood." Jet replied.

Though Leo wasn't so sure. Granted, Toph did confirm he was telling the truth, something about this felt off.

* * *

Jet led the group into a large barn. "This is the place I heard about."

They all looked around. "It's certainly big enough to hold Appa." Don observed.

"There's nothing here." Aang said, as the barn was empty.

"Hold on." Leo said. "Toph, any tunnels or something the Dai-Li may have used to transport him?"

Toph felt around. "Nope. Nothing"

Katara and Raph both flashed glares towards Jet. "Start explaining kid." Raph told him.

"If this is a trap…!" Katara began.

"I told you, I work nearby." Jet told them. "Some guys we're talking about a giant furry creature they had, I figured it must be Appa."

"Guys! Over here!" Mikey called. He picked up a piece of white fur as the group caught up with him. Don took a moment to look at it.

"Yep, this is Appa's fur alright." Don confirmed as Aang took it in his hand.

"We missed him." Aang said dejectedly as he felt the fur.

An old janitor walked by the group as he was sweeping up the floor. "They took that big thing yesterday." He said, getting the group's attention. "Shipped him out to some island. About time, I've been cleaning up fur and various…leavings all day."

"Yesterday?" Leo questioned.

"What island?! Where's Appa?!" Aang excitedly asked.

"Forman said some rich-royal-type on Whale-Tail-Island bought him up." The janitor said. "Guess for a zoo or such. Could be, the meat be good."

"We've got to get to Whale-Tail-Island!" Aang said.

"Only one problem Aang." Mikey began. "Where's Whale-Tail-Island?"

Sokka and Don looked at the world-map they had. "Far." Sokka said. "Very far."

"How far exactly?" Raph questioned.

Don laid the map on the floor so they all could see. "Right here." He pointed. "Close to the South Pole, almost all the way back to Sokka and Katara's home."

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Raph angrily questioned. "That far?!"

"Aang, it'll take us weeks just to get to the tip of the Earth Kingdom." Katara said. "And we'll need a boat to get to the island."

"Not to mention it'll take away a huge chunk of our time to prepare for the Invasion." Leo added.

"I don't care." Aang replied. "We have a chance to find Appa, we have to try."

"Must be nice to visit an island." The janitor said. "I haven't had a vacation for years."

"Don't you have some more hair to clean up?" Katara told the janitor.

"Translation: Get lost old man." Raph added.

"Yeah, yeah." The janitor replied. "No more need for old sweepy." He continued to brush.

Katara put a hand on Aang's shoulder. "You're right Aang. Right now, our first concern has to be finding Appa. We can come back when we get him."

"Somehow I feel we won't be welcomed back though." Don added.

"Either way, let's get moving." Sokka said as the group began to walk out. Jet ran up to them.

"I'll come with you."

"We don't need you're help." Katara harshly told him.

"Why won't you trust me?" Jet asked as he walked out with the others; leaving just Katara, Toph, and Mikey.

"Gee, I wonder?" She said sarcastically.

"Was this guy you're boyfriend or something?" Toph asked.

"What?! No!" Katara quickly replied as she turned her head away.

"I can tell you're lying." Toph sang.

Mikey joked gave an amused smile. "Should I tell Aang you've been leading him on or something?" He joked with a snicker.

Katara's face turned red as steam came out of her ears. She walked out soon afterwards. Toph and Mikey both snickered before fist bumping.

* * *

The group was now walking out in the streets. Don and Sokka we're both looking at the map in front of them.

"We can take the train out of the wall, but then we'd have to walk." Sokka said.

"And not counting the sleep and food we're gonna need, it'll be two months at the earliest before we can get a boat to the island." Don added.

"Don't worry." Aang assured. "On the way back we'll be flying."

"We're finally leaving Ba-Sing-Se." Toph said with joy. "Worst city ever!"

"You said it kid." Raph agreed.

"Hold on a sec guys." Leo stopped, getting the group's attention. "This doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean? We know where to find Appa." Aang said.

"Do we?" Leo questioned. "That janitor said Appa was at that barn yesterday. But my brothers and I saw him last night. That doesn't add up. Plus, look how far Whale-Tail-Island is from here. The Dai-Li are Earthbenders, but there's no way they can move something as big as Appa that fast. The pieces just don't fit right."

"What are you saying?" Katara asked.

"I'm saying this is too much of a coincidence."

"Yeah, he's right." Raph agreed. "Long Feng and his goons are busy trying keep the war secret from this city, but we present a problem. We saw him nab Appa, but now he's supposedly bought up on an island on the other side of the planet? This has to be some kind of trick."

"But Toph said Jet was telling the truth." Sokka said.

"That's also something that confuses me." Leo added. "How could Jet have heard about Appa if the bison only arrived last night? He couldn't have been bought up this quickly."

All set their eyes on Jet, but before something else could be said; Smellerbee and Long Shot both walked out of an alleyway and saw their leader.

"Jet!" Smellerbee exclaimed, getting everyone's attention.

"I thought you said you didn't have you're gang anymore." Katara angrily told Jet.

"I don't." He replied before Smellerbee embraced him.

"We we're so worried!" She exclaimed. "How'd you get away from the Dai-Li?" That got everyone's attention.

"The Dai-Li?!" Katara, Mikey, Leo, and Raph all exclaimed at the same time.

"I don't know what she's talking about." Jet said.

Don put a finger to his chin, somehow the pieces we're starting to come together. "What happened? Where did you guys last see Jet?" He asked Smellerbee and Long Shot.

"He got arrested by the Dai-Li a couple days ago. We saw them drag him away." Smellerbee revealed.

"You don't say." Raph uttered as he gave a suspicious look towards Jet.

"Why would I be arrested? I've been living peacefully in the city!" Jet replied.

"Toph, human-lie-detector time!" Mikey told her.

She was already on it. "This doesn't make any sense, they're both telling the truth."

"That's impossible." Katara said.

"No. It's not." Leo contradicted.

"Leo's right." Sokka agreed. "Toph can't tell who's lying because they both think they're telling the truth."

"And given all the stuff we just said, about Appa being coincidentally sent to another island, when he was only caught last night; this proves it." Leo figured it out. "Jet's been brainwashed!"

"Whoa!" Mikey exclaimed. "Plot twist!"

"That's crazy! It can't be!" Jet exclaimed in pure confusion. The group soon began to close in around him. "Stay away from me!" They got closer, Jet soon acted out of fear and drew his hook-swords. "Stay away! ALL OF YOU STAY AWAY!"

Mikey soon gave a punch across the jaw, knocking Jet out. Most looked in surprise and turned to Mikey for what he did.

"What? He was freaking me out."

* * *

 _Later that night._

The night was eerie in Ba-Sing-Se as a lone Dai-Li agent walked through the streets alone, or so he thought. Right behind him, Zuko in his guise as the Blue Spirit, ran past the Dai-Li agent.

"Out of my way skinny!" He said as he pushed the agent down and ran past him.

This angered the agent as he looked towards the masked assailant, who turned down an alleyway. The agent ran after him. Once he turned down the alley, he spot the supposed masked-man and shot out his right rock-glove, which took the form of a fist, punching him in the gut. The agent sent out his other rock-glove and knocked the head right off, only to reveal it was a dummy stuffed with hay.

Before the agent knew it, a sword was placed up to his neck as The Blue Spirit stood behind him. "If you don't want to end up like him, you'll do what I say."

* * *

Meanwhile, in a small building nearby; Leo, Aang, Katara, Mikey, Raph, Toph, Sokka, Don, along with Smellerbee and Long Shot stood looking towards Jet who sat in a chair in front of them.

"The Dai-Li sent Jet to get us out of the city." Leo said.

"Yeah, and that janitor was part of their plot to." Katara agreed.

"What are the odds that Appa is in the same place they took Jet?" Don guessed.

"Where did they take you?" Aang asked Jet.

"Nowhere, I don't know what you're talking about." Jet said honestly.

"Don't suppose I can pound your memory back into you." Raph said as he punched his palm with his fist.

"Why is it always the violent way with you?" Aang asked him.

"Hey, It usually works." Raph replied.

"How could these guys even brainwash Jet anyway?" Mikey asked.

"My guess is through a form of hypnosis of some kind." Don theorized.

"We need to find a way to jog his real memory." Aang said.

"Maybe Katara should kiss him, that should bring something back." Sokka joked.

Raph smacked Sokka upside the head. "Focus idiot."

"Why don't _you_ kiss him Sokka?" Katara angrily told him.

"Hey it's just an idea." Sokka replied as he rubbed the part of his head where Raph smacked him.

"A bad one." Aang replied with a scowl as he looked away.

"Don, any ideas?" Leo asked.

"They've somehow altered Jet's immediate memory." Don began. "But memories are always there; they might be changed but they don't go away. We need a way to trigger it, try to… reset his cognitive memory."

"Yeah, try to think of something from you're past that triggers your emotions." Toph said as she could tell where Toph was going.

"The Fire Nation." Smellerbee recalled. "Remember what they did to you're family."

"Close you're eyes. Picture it." Katara told him.

Jet did so and began to look back. He soon saw an old childhood memory of Fire Nation soldiers burning down his home, with a young teary-eyed Jet. This memory shocked him back to reality.

"No! It's too painful."

Leo kneeled down in front of Jet. He soon took off his hood, to reveal his face; much to Jet's shock.

"Leo!" Raph exclaimed. "What the Shell are you doing?!"

"Just trust me Raph." Leo replied.

"What the…!?" Smellerbee exclaimed in shock as Don, Mikey, even Raph lowered their hoods to reveal their faces.

"What… What are you?!" Jet exclaimed.

"It's okay. It's alright!" Aang quickly put in. "Their friends. They're spirits. Spirit warriors that are here to help. They're my friends, you can trust them."

The three Freedom Fighters seemed to calm down. Leo looked at Jet straight into the eyes.

"Look Jet." Leo began. "I understand my appearance may be a bit much for you, but I need you to listen to me. You're memories are still in there; look past you're pain, don't fight it, let it flow. Let your real memories reach the surface, let your mind roam free."

Leo's words seemed to echo in Jet's mind as he closed his eyes again and let it all flow. He soon found himself standing on top a lake, facing Long Feng. Jet then found himself being dragged under the water and being pulled into a dark lair. It all came back to him now.

"They took me to a secret headquarters under the water." Jet said. "Like a lake."

"Hold on." Mikey said. "That Ju-Dee lady said something about a lake."

"Yeah, Lake Laogai." Sokka recalled.

"That's it! Lake Laogai." Jet remembered.

"Okay, now we know where it is." Leo said. He turned to face the group. "we have had our backs to the wall for too long, it's time we take the fight straight to the Dai-Li. If they won't listen to reason, then it's time we bring them down."

"Shell yeah!" Raph eagerly exclaimed, "Let's kick some ass!"

* * *

 _The next morning_

Casey rode on his motorcycle on the outskirts of the Inner Wall, with Master Splinter in the back. They continued to ride, though Casey gave a deep sigh. "We've been searching for the guys forever. We're never gonna find em."

Splinter looked a bit towards the side. "Look over there! Close to that lake!"

Casey stopped his motorcycle, they looked downhill towards a large lake, they saw several small figures walking towards the lake; they recognized four of them, even from that far away.

"It's the guys!" Casey stated.

"Yes, though it seems they may be on a mission of some sort." Splinter observed as he stroked his little beard.

"Then what ya say we give em a hand, eh Sensei?" Casey asked with a knowing smile, which Splinter returned with his own grin.

* * *

The combined group consisting of the Turtles, Team Avatar, and the Freedom Fighters came before the shore of Lake Laogai.

"This must be it." Leo said.

"So where's this secret headquarters?" Sokka asked.

"Under the water I think." Jet recalled.

"Perfect spot to hide a base." Don stated.

"Great, but how do we get in?" Mikey asked.

"There's a tunnel right there near the shore." Toph pointed to the far left as she walked towards the supposed spot while whistling.

Toph stopped at the spot and took an Earthbending stance. With a jump and lunge of her fist, she revealed the bridge that lead to the hatch for the tunnel.

"Nice work kid." Raph complemented as he rubbed Toph's hair. The group soon came before the hatch, which Toph moved with her Earthbending. They all looked down the hole.

"Dude." Mikey said as the word echoed throughout the tunnel.

"And down the rabbit-hole we go." Leo said.

"What?" Aang asked.

"Never mind. Let's go."

* * *

After climbing down; Leo lead the group near the larger tunnel; most of the group had their respective weapons out while the Benders maintained their bending-stances. Leo was closer to the opening. He peered down the tunnel and saw the coast was clear, he made a gesture with his katana to slowly and quietly move forward. Everyone nodded as he led the group down the hall.

"It's all starting to come back to me." Jet said as memories began to come into his mind.

They quietly passed by a small room where a Dai-Li agent stood in front of several near-identical women wearing identical clothes.

"I'm Ju-Dee. Welcome to Ba-Sing-Se." The agent said.

 _"I'm Ju-Dee. Welcome to Ba-Sing-Se."_ All the women repeated at the same time.

"Yeah, that's not creepy or anything." Mikey whispered.

"We're so lucky to have our walls to create order." The agent said.

 _"We're so lucky to have our walls to create order."_ The women repeated once more.

"Looks like you we're right about the hypnosis Don." Leo said as the group continued to walk down the hall.

"Yeah, this is a major conspiracy going on here. How long has this thing been down here?" Don questioned.

"Maybe even since the start of the war." Leo guessed.

"But that's a hundred years ago." Mikey reminded.

"I know, which makes this all the more dangerous." Leo replied.

"Yeah well, I like danger." Raph replied. "Though it seems like the Fire Nation aren't the only bad guys in this war. Kinda makes you wonder, who the _good_ guys are."

"There are hardly any in war." Leo said.

"So Jet, anything on Appa?" Mikey asked.

"I think so." Jet replied. "I think there might be a cell big enough to hold Appa up ahead." The group walked towards a stone door on the other side of the hallway. "I think it's through here."

* * *

Appa sat, chained to the floor, in his dark cell. He looked to see his door open. The bison got up to see who opened it.

"Expecting someone else?" Zuko, still in his guise as the Blue Spirit, asked the bison as he walked into the cell.

* * *

Jet opened the door to reveal a large and dark chamber. The group slowly and quietly walked inside, their arms at the ready. Leo soon sensed something.

"We're not alone."

Before anything else could be said, the door closed behind them and the chamber lit up, revealing several dozen Dai-Li agents on the ceiling, much to the group's surprise.

"Now that's something different." Sokka said.

"Eh, seen it before." Mikey shrugged.

Long Feng revealed himself at the other side of the chamber of the. "You have made yourselves enemies of the state." He addressed the glaring heroes who readied their weapons. "Take them into custody."

Every single Dai-Li agent dropped down and slowly approached the group, who readied themselves. But Toph soon sensed something that made her look confused.

"Guys." She began. "Something's coming. Really fast!"

Before anyone could respond to that, they all heard some form of motor sound. When everyone looked down a dark hall, they saw a light. Out of the darkness, a motorcycle quickly rode through. The man on it swerved the motorcycle on it's side, which knocked back three Dai-Li agents foolish enough to stand in it's way.

"What the heck is that?!" Sokka exclaimed.

The man on the motorcycle revved it up once more before riding straight towards the massive group of Dai-Li agents. They erected an Earth-wall, causing the man to jump of his vehicle. It slammed into the wall and exploded, knocking back all the agents behind it.

The man landed on his feet, with his bag of various sports-wear on his back and his signature hockey mask.

"Now that's what I call crashing a party."

"Casey!" Raph exclaimed, recognizing him instantly.

"You know this guy?!" Aang asked.

"Yeah, he's a good friend." Leo replied.

Casey slowly walked towards the group, taking out a baseball bat, as two Dai-Li agents approached him. "Though I never seen a lamer party in my life!" Casey said as slammed the bat in both their heads, knocking them back. "Where's the band?" He stood with the guys. "So you green-guys babysitting or something?"

"Babysitting?" Toph questioned irritatingly.

"Long story." Don told him. "But how'd you get here?"

"What? You thought we let you guys have all the fun?" Casey joked.

"We?" Raph questioned. As soon as that was said, a familiar humanoid rodent fell from the ceiling and landed gracefully on his feet, he wielded his wooden walking stick like a staff as he stood with his sons.

"Master Splinter!" Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey exclaimed at the same time.

"Your master?" Katara questioned the Turtles

"Your rat teacher?" Sokka asked as well.

"Yep. Mikey replied.

"Uh…." Jet turned to Aang hoping for an explanation.

"Long story, I'll explain later."

"And my Sons, I expect an explanation from you as well." Splinter addressed the Turtles before turning towards the enemy. "I don't know who you are." He spoke to Long Feng. "But if you threaten my sons, then I will be you're opponent as well." Splinter readied himself.

"Sir?" One agent asked Long Feng who only looked with a scowl. "Arrest them all." The Dai-Li agents readied themselves to follow their leader's orders.

"This can't be the band." Casey said, following his joke. "I want rock n roll, man." He took out his hockey stick. "Good thing I brought my own drum sticks. Now, who wants to be the drum? GOONGALA!"

With that all the heroes charged forward towards the small army of Dai-Li agents.

Casey was among the first to attack, he swerved under three stone fists sent by three agents. Once he got up to them he smacked one across the face with his hockey stick, and did the same for the second and the third as well.

Two stone fists we're coming towards Casey, which Toph was able to destroy with her Earthbending. She erected two pillars to send those two angers flying.

Raph jumped over Toph into a group of agents. He was able to kick one away before a few threw retractable chains at him, which wrapped around his right arm. He pulled his arm forward with such strength that it pulled the agents towards him, which he nailed with a large roundhouse kick.

Leo sliced all the incoming stone-hands heading his way before running towards a group of Dai-Li. They erected stone pillars to block his path but he simply jumped on the pillars as the rose and jumped over straight down into the group; with a few slashes, they we're all thrown back towards the wall.

Jet ran towards two agents, cutting through their flying stone gloves with his hook-swords. He slid under one and caught his foot in the hook, and tripping him over. The other one was about to get him, but he got smacked away by Don who slammed his staff into his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Many Dai-Li agents sent a few stone-trails towards Don, which he pole-vaulted over with his staff, Mikey jumped with him using the chains to swing with his nunchuck, he caught Don's hand with his own. The two let gravity do its work as the two slammed their feet into the incoming agents.

Katara used her water to slice through incoming stone hands, as did Sokka with his boomerang. The two we're pulled with more stone hands towards more agents, but Master Splinter, with very quick speed, swerved past them and shattered the stone hands off the two with simple chops. Splinter jumped towards the two Dai-Li and gave a split-kick to each of their heads as they landed between him.

Toph and Raph stood back-to-back as at least six Dai-Li agents approached them from all sides. Toph created a massive rock pillar to ascend herself and Raph. The six agents followed suit to get on the same platform as them, as soon as they landed they faced the wrath of Raphael. He kicked one in the face, flashed his sai towards a second who caught in his stone hand, only for Raph to flip him over into a third agent knocking them both over. Toph shifted the platform and created two stone pillars to slam in the guts of two agents, knocking them both back. Only one stood left behind them; Raph reeled back a fist, and Toph did the same with her fist coated in rock. Both fists slammed into the agent's face, knocking him all the way to the other side of the chamber, leaving an impression. The two grinned as they fist-bumped.

Aang sent an air-wave with a slice of his staff, knocking back several agents. Many tried to ride towards him from behind on earth-waves, but Mikey landed behind Aang and with a flail of his nunchucks, sent them all flying. He smiled with his tongue hanging out as he twirled his nunchucks. Aang gave a grateful smile before kicking and sending both a stone and air-wave to another pair of agents, knocking them all away.

Jet stood back-to-back with Smellerbee, as they took down two more agents. Long Shot swerved next to them and fired an arrow to knock down a stone fist from an agent. He and three others rushed towards them, but Leo landed in their path and ran towards them. Leo jumped over their flying stone fists and landed behind them. He slashed the two from behind with horizontal slices from both his swords. Before the other two could react, he gave a kick to the head of one agent and slammed the blunt of his sword-handle into the face of the last, knocking him out.

Casey had a hockey stick in one hand and a baseball bat in the other. He twirled them both before charging to three incoming agents. He slammed into one elbow-first, knocking him to the ground. The other two used their gauntlets to pin him to the ground, but Casey gave a kick with his feet to knock them both back. He got back up as they did, one was greeted with the bat to the gut and the hockey stick to the jaw.

Five more stood in front of him, he readied himself, but they all fell down as Master Splinter stood behind him, indicating he already took them down.

"Aw, I would have decked them." Casey jokingly complained.

Splinter flashed an amused smile before he jumped back into the fight.

Long Feng watched as this fight continued. He had a sinking feeling his agents would soon loose, so he backed into a nearby doorway which Aang noticed.

"Long Feng is escaping!" The young Avatar told the whole group.

"Aang and Jet with me, we'll handle Long Feng. Everyone else take care of these guys!" Leo ordered the group before he, Aang, and Jet ran after Long Feng.

* * *

Aang knocked the door down with Earthbending as he, Leo, and Jet ran down a hallway. The three ran into a large chamber that appeared to be some sort of sewage drainage area. They looked around and spotted Long Feng behind them, who sealed the door with his own Earthbending.

"Alright Avatar." Long Feng began. "You've caused me enough problems. This is your last chance. If you want your bison back."

"Leo was right, you do have Appa!" Aang stated. "Tell me where he is!"

"I highly advised you listen to him Long Feng." Leo told him. "Unless you'd rather do this the hard way." He said as he flashed his katanas.

"Agree to exit the city now, and I'll wave all charges against all of you, and allow you to leave with your lost pet." Long Feng proposed.

"You're in no position to bargain." Jet stated.

"Am I not?" Long Feng questioned in a surprisingly calm tone.

"You're definitely not!" Aang replied.

Leo saw the smirk on Long Feng's face. "You've got another trick up your sleeve, don't you?" He asked with a glare.

"You must be the smart one." Long Feng replied. "Jet, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."

Leo looked towards Jet, having a bad feeling where this was going. Jet's pupils changed.

"I am honored to accept his invitation." Jet stated calmly.

"Aw shell." Leo cussed; he was able to react in time to stop Jet's attack with his own swords standing in front of Aang. Leo kicked Jet back.

Jet charged forward and clashed his blades with Leo's katanas.

* * *

Elsewhere, Appa glared and growled at Zuko in his Blue Spirit guise as he readied his dao-swords.

"You're mine now." Zuko stated. He heard the door open behind him and readied his blades, but it was Iroh who stood before him.

"Uncle?"

"So the Blue Spirit." Iroh began to fake-ponder. "I wonder who could be behind that mask."

Zuko sighed before taking off his mask to reveal his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing." Iroh replied. "What do you plan to do, now that you've found the Avatar's bison? Keep it locked in our new apartment? Shall I go put on a pot of tea for him?"

"First I have to get it out of here." Zuko said.

"And then what?!" Iroh yelled. "You never think these things through! This is exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole! You had him, and then you had nowhere to go!"

"I would have figured something out!" Zuko exclaimed.

"No!" Iroh exclaimed back. "If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!"

Zuko growled. "I know my own destiny Uncle!"

"Is it your _own_ destiny? Or is it a destiny that someone _else_ has tried to force on you!?" Iroh questioned.

"Stop it Uncle!" Zuko exclaimed as he turned back to Appa. "I have to do this!"

"I'm begging you Prince Zuko!" Iroh told him. "It's time you look inward, and begin asking yourself the big question…" Zuko shook as Iroh continued. "Who are you? And what do you want?!"

Zuko slammed his mask and swords on the ground as he yelled in pure frustration and it echoed throughout the chamber.

* * *

Back with the others; who we're currently facing the Dai-Li agents; Katara, Raph, Don, Toph, Mikey, Sokka, Casey, Smellerbee, and Long Shot found themselves standing together against a group of at least fifteen remaining Dai-Li agents.

"There's just so many." Katara stated.

"How are we gonna get out of this one?" Sokka questioned.

"Leave that to me."

Master Splinter leaped above the group of heroes and landed right in the middle of the Dai-Li agents. Before they could react he attacked. Splinter used his walking like a weapon, he slammed it backwards into the face of the first agent, then back forward into the second. He twirled it before using the spinning stick to slam it into the faces of three more agents. Splinter then swerved his feet, knocking down most of the agents circling him. He gave a hand thrust to one; the force was enough to send the agent through the group, taking down at least five agents. With just a few more punches and strikes with his staff, all the remaining agents we're sent flying to the wall and smacked into it before falling down in a heap of unconsciousness, before Master Splinter took a finishing combat stance.

Katara, Sokka, Smellerbee, Long Shot, and even Toph had their jaws drop at this sight while Raph, Casey, Mikey and Don had knowing smiles as this was expected.

"But…. Just one… he's a rat and…. A lot of them… but I… that's…" Sokka was unable to find the words.

"I got one word: Whoa." Toph breathed.

"You said it, Toph." Katara repeated with wide eyes.

"Yep, Master Splinter kicks butt." Raph said with a cocky grin.

* * *

Leo continued to clash his katanas against Jet's hook-swords; though Leo was on the defensive side as he was holding back against Jet due to him acting against his own will.

"Jet stop!" Aang tried. "You don't have to do this!"

Leo kicked Jet back and glared at Long Feng. "Something's telling he doesn't have a choice Aang."

"Right you are, turtle." Long Feng replied.

Jet was sweating, as he was quite tired. He tried to strike Aang, but Leo blocked his blade with his sword. "Jet, you can't keep fighting! You're body's gonna give out!" Jet tried to hack and slash at Leo relentlessly, but Leo blocked all of his strikes. "Aang, if he can't snap out of this, I'll have to bring him down." Leo stated as he swerved around Jet and slammed his elbow in his back, causing Jet to tumble backwards. Jet however stood back up, despite the fatigue he had.

"Leo wait!" Aang said as he stood in between them. He turned to face Jet. "Jet, I'm you're friend! Look inside you're heart." Jet looked quite conflicted.

"Aang, keep getting through, it's working." Leo stated.

"Do you're duty Jet." Long Feng told him.

"No Jet, he's not your master, you don't have to serve him!" Leo told Jet, as this seemed to work as well.

"Leo's right, he can't make you do this! You're a Freedom Fighter!" Aang reminded him.

Those words made Jet stop as all his memories of him and his fellow Freedom Fighters flowed back into him. Jet's eyes turned back to normal, which Leo noticed, causing him to lower his swords.

"Do it! Do it now!" Long Feng told Jet.

Jet turned around and with a yell, through his hook-sword towards Long Feng, who swerved out of the way and sent an earth-column racing towards Jet, which slammed him in the rib-cage; much to Leo and Aang's shock.

Jet landed on his back. Aang ran towards Jet, while Leo went after Long Feng who lifted himself with an earth-pillar up to a drainage tunnel before Leo could get to him.

"Foolish boy!" Long Feng cursed Jet. "You've choosen your own demise!"

Leo glared at Long Feng as he ran away. "Damn coward." Leo cursed. He looked down and picked up the hook-sword Jet through. He walked towards Aang who kneeled by Jet's side and placed the sword next to the other before kneeling himself.

"I'm sorry Aang." Jet weakly said.

"Don't be." Aang told him.

"It wasn't your fault." Leo added.

The door opened to reveal all the others. They all saw the downed Jet with wide eyes and ran towards him.

"What happened?" Mikey asked.

"Long Feng happened." Leo replied

Raph growled "Where's that good-for-nothing scum bag?!"

"Gone. He got away." Leo replied.

Katara immediately pulled out her healing water and tried to apply it to Jet. Don also placed his hand near Jet's chest and his eyes slightly widened.

"Not good." Don said. "All his ribs are broken, and he's got a punctured lung. He's bleeding internally."

"Is there anything you can do my son?" Splinter asked.

"No." Don said as he shook his head. "He has maybe five minutes at the most."

Aang, Katara, Sokka, Smellerbee, and Mikey gasped at that; while Raph, Splinter, and Long-Shot hung their heads down.

Casey lifted his hockey mask to show his face, which bore a sorrowful look. He didn't have anything to say. He barely knew this kid, but didn't like it one bit as he knew this kid was going to die.

"Jet…" Katara said.

"Funny." Jet said with an ironic laugh and a cough. "Kinda thought a Firebender would be the one to due me in… not an Earthbender… life is screwed up. Huh?"

"You got no idea." Raph replied. "Sorry for not trusting you earlier, kid. I uh…"

"It's alright…" Jet breathed as he coughed again. "I deserved it."

"You guys go and find Appa." Smellerbee told them all. "We'll take care of Jet."

"We can't just leave you guys here." Mikey replied.

"There's no time. Just go." Long Shot spoke. "We'll take care of him. He's our leader."

They all understood as they stood up.

Jet grunted. "It's… Leo… right?"

"Yes." The blue-clad turtle replied.

"You seem pretty good with swords…" Jet coughed as he took his hook-swords in his hand. "Take mine."

Most of the group's eyes widened at this. "Jet I…" Leo tried.

"You might need them. When you take down… the Fire Nation." Jet coughed as he had just a few moments left. "At least… in a way… I can see this through…" Jet slowly lifted the hook-swords. Leo placed his hand on Jet's as he took the hook-swords and wielded one in each hand.

"I will honor you with them Jet. That's a promise." Leo vowed.

Jet smiled before he gave one final breath and his head fell back. Most of the group's eyes quivered, especially Katara and Smellerbee.

"I do not wish to impose but we must leave now." Splinter said.

"He's right. Let's go." Aang said as he, Katara, Leo, Raph, Splinter, Toph, Mikey, Don, Sokka, and Casey all walked out; leaving a sobbing Smellerbee and Long Shot pointing an arrow down one tunnel.

* * *

The group opened a door to see the cell where Appa was once held, only to find it was empty.

"Appa's gone!" Aang stated.

"Long Feng must have beaten us here." Don said.

"If we hurry we should be able to catch him." Mikey said.

"I hope so." Raph growled. "I got a few gallons of fists to unload on that bastard!"

The group then ran through the tunnels.

"Uh fellas…" Casey spoke up. "What exactly is going on here?"

"We'll explain later Casey, right now just follow us." Leo said as the group continued to run.

* * *

An Earth-hole was formed out of the edge of the lake as Leo, Aang, Katara, Splinter, Raph, Sokka, Toph, Mikey, Don, and Casey all ran outside.

"Guys, we got company!" Mikey said as he looked back to see several Dai-Li running agents after them.

"You think we can out-run them?" Sokka asked.

"I don't think it's gonna matter." Aang replied.

The group saw Long Feng and many other Dai-Li agents standing far in front of them. The agents erected a massive earth-wall, to cut off their escape route as Long Feng stood on the top. The agents behind them erected an earth-wall as well, completely trapping the entire group. Even two agents hung on the side canyon on their right, with the lake on their left. The group was trapped.

Leo glared up at Long Feng, who glared back down at him. Raph ran up to Leo's side. "Long Feng you damn bastard!" Raph yelled "Come down here and let me kick your sorry ass black and blue you Fire-Lord-Wannabe!"

"I'd rather not." Long Feng replied simply.

The group readied themselves for one large fight they we're likely going to have.

Momo soon flew in towards the group and landed on Aang's shoulder chirping loudly. "What is it Momo?"

The lemur flew straight upwards towards the sun. In the light, Momo vanished, and a certain bison flew downwards towards the group.

"What the hell is that?!" Casey exclaimed.

"APPA!" Aang exclaimed happily as he, Leo, Raph, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Mikey, and Don all smiled widley.

Appa slammed through both walls with great strength, causing them both to shatter, and sending all the Dai-Li agents on them flying. Aang and Toph ran towards the canyon and with a combined Earthbending form, sent a platform out that sent the agents perched there flying into the lake.

Long Feng struggled to get up, but soon found a hook-sword pointed towards him. He looked up to see the wearer Leo glaring at him with Mikey, Raph, and Don by his side glaring at him as well.

Long Feng immediacy got up and took an Earthbending stance. "I can handle you four by myself!"

"It's not use you need to worry about." Leo stated as he gestured behind him.

Long Feng turned around to see Appa land and growl at him. Long Feng tried to attack but Appa bit into his leg and with a mighty heave, sent Long Feng skipping across the lake's surface like a rock. Appa then spat out Long Feng's shoe.

"And he's Outta here!" Mikey exclaimed as he patted Appa's head.

"Not bad you fur-ball, not bad." Raph complemented as he, Leo, Don, and Mikey patted his head.

Aang ran towards him and hugged the bison's head, as did Katara, Toph, and Sokka.

"I missed you buddy." Aang said as tears of joy fell from his eyes. Appa gave a contentful groan, happy to be reunited with Aang as well. Leo saw Aang and Appa together and could only smile at this.

Casey and Splinter soon walked up towards the group. "Yo, now that is one ass-kicking animal." Casey complemented with a smile.

"My sons." The Turtles walked towards their father. "I trust an explanation is now in order."

"Boy have we got a story to tell you." All four said at the same time.

* * *

Meanwhile; Zuko and Iroh both climbed out of the Dai-Li lair and outside. Zuko looked to the Sky-Bison in the air that held all his companions on board.

"You did the right thing Nephew." Iroh said to Zuko, indicating he was the one who sent Appa free. Zuko looked towards his Blue Spirit mask. "Leave it behind." Iroh told him.

Zuko then dropped the mask into the water and let it sink.

 **Done. What do you think? I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Believe me, things are about to get very real and intense for their heroes. They may have reunited with Appa as well as Master Splinter and Casey Jones, but there are some enemies they still have to deal with, one in particular who is determined to bring this world down to it's knees.**


	11. The Earth King

**Hey people. Here's the next chapter to Worlds Collide. Expect quite a bit of action in this chapter. I own neither TMNT nor Avatar: Last Airbender. Anyway, here we go.**

 **The Earth King**

In the middle of the massive Lake Laogai, the large group of heroes; consisting of Aang, Leonardo, Katara, Raphael, Toph, Donatello, Sokka, and Michelangelo, along with the rescued Appa and the newly arrived Master Splinter and Casey Jones we're recovering from their last encounter with the Dai-Li and we're now getting more acquainted with the situation.

"Okay, okay, let me get this straight." Casey began as the Turtles told them of the situation at hand. "You guys got zapped to a magic world where people got some kind of elemental-kung-fu-powers."

"Yep." Mikey replied.

"And this world is also stuck in a 100-year-long war where the Fire-guys are winning and are the bad guys here." Casey continued.

"Right." Don said.

"And that kid over there." Casey gestured to Aang as he was reuniting with his beloved Bison. "Is the guardian of this crazy world who has to control all the elements to beat this Fire Lord guy?"

"Uh huh." Raph nodded.

"And now you guys just came to a capital of the other side's guys only to learn about a crazy conspiracy going on." Casey finished.

"Yep, that pretty much sums it all up." Leo replied.

Master Splinter bore an amused chuckle as he shook his head. "I see my sons have gotten into their usual amount of trouble in the time they have been gone."

The Turtles each gave an awkward laugh as they all rubbed the backs of their heads.

Aang had finished reuniting with Appa and went up to the group. "It's an honor to meet you Master Splinter." He greeted with a bow.

"It is I who is honored, young Avatar." Splinter greeted with his own bow.

Aang looked to Casey. "And what's your name?"

"Casey Jones. Inspiring do-gooder, and all around pain-in-the-ass, at you're service." Casey offered his hand to shake, which Aang took.

"Nice to meet you Casey, I'm Aang." Aang shook Casey's hand.

"Yeah, yeah, we all know each other now." Sokka said, getting everyone's attention. "We escaped from the Dai-Li, we got Appa back, and we got reinforcements now. I'm telling you, we should go to the Earth King now and tell him our plan, we're on a roll."

Everyone else wasn't too convinced.

"All those who think we're on a roll, say 'aye'." Leo said.

"Nay" Raph, Katara, Toph, Don, and Mikey all said at the same time.

"All those who think Sokka is a complete and absolute bone-head…" Raph announced.

"Aye!" Leo, Don, Katara, Mikey, and Toph all replied at the same time.

"The ayes have it Sokka, you're a bonehead." Raph told him.

"Hey, I'm not a bonehead! I'm the brains of the group!" Sokka stated.

"Since when?" Mikey questioned.

"They're right Sokka." Katara said. "One good hour after weeks of trouble isn't much of a roll."

"We can build on it." Sokka began. "If we want to invade the Fire Nation when the eclipse happens, we need the Earth King's support."

"Who says we do?" Raph questioned. "I bet all of us could do it by ourselves."

"I hear ya Raph." Casey agreed. "In fact let's load up and head over there right now and beat that Fire-Lord-Freak's teeth in." He and Raph both high-fived.

"Guys look, Sokka has a point." Leo said, and that got everyone to bear a look of surprise at him. "Yeah I never thought I'd hear myself say that either. If it we're that easy to take down the Fire Lord, don't you think someone would have done it already in the last century?"

"Yes that is a good point." Splinter agreed. "As skilled as we all are together, there is only so much that we can accomplish. We will indeed need an army if this invasion is to be successful."

"What makes you think we'll get one?" Toph questioned. "I don't know if you've noticed, but things don't usually go that smoothly for our little gang."

"I hear ya." Don replied. "We've been through the same thing before."

"Tell me about it." Mikey recalled. "Whenever it looks like we're gonna get the win.. Bam! Something always happens!"

"I get it." Sokka said. "But I've got a good feeling about this, this time will be different."

"Good feeling?" Raph questioned. "That's reassuring." He said sarcastically.

"Long Feng is in control of the city, his conspiracy with the Dai-Li is too powerful." Katara pointed out. "I think we should just keep flying and leave this horrible place behind us."

"I'm with sweetness." Toph agreed. "I've seen enough of Ba-Sing-Se, and I can't even see!"

Aang joined the group. "But now that we have Appa back, plus with the Turtles, Master Splinter, and they're friend Casey; there's nothing stopping us from telling the Earth King the truth, about the conspiracy and the war."

"See, Aang's with me." Sokka pointed out.

"I'm in." Raph said. "Not about this whole positivity thing, but to get payback on Long Feng. That guy needs a serious ass-kicking."

"Yeah totally." Casey agreed with Raph. "From what you guys said, that old-man's a real control freak; not to mention he freaking murdered a kid. That guy's face has got a date with my hockey-stick right here." Casey showed said hockey stick for emphasis.

"Aw yeah, it's payback time!" Mikey agreed.

"It could work. If we get a chance to see the King, maybe he could to take the Avatar's word for it." Don suggested.

Katara put her hand to her chin. "Well, I guess if he knew the truth, things could change."

"I don't trust the new positive Sokka." Toph said. "Long Feng brainwashed you! Didn't he?!" She pointed an accusing finger towards him.

"He couldn't." Raph joked. "Sokka ain't got a brain to wash."

Sokka grimaced at that statement as Raph, Toph, Mikey, and even Casey snickered.

"Master Splinter?" Leo asked. "What do you think we should do?"

Splinter stroked his beard. "Hmmm. In order to succeed in battle, or on one's quest, you must have faith in your own strength, and in your own mind as well."

"Uh… what?" Sokka asked as he, Toph, and Aang angled their heads; they didn't have a clue to what he said.

"Trust your gut." Splinter translated.

Raph looked out to the lake and noticed something. "Whoa. Huston we got bad guys inbound!"

They all looked outward towards the lake and saw three ships heading towards them.

"How much do you wanna bet it's the Dai-Li searching for us?" Don guessed.

Leo looked to Katara. "So, you wanna wait for them to find us, or do you wanna bust Long Feng?"

Katara put on a serious face. "Shell yeah. Let's bring him down."

* * *

The sky was red as Appa flew towards the palace. Aang sat on Appa's head alongside Leo and Splinter; while Toph, Raph, Casey, Katara, Mikey, Don, and Sokka all hung onto Appa's fur on his back.

"Can we please buy a new saddle!?" Toph exclaimed. "Ridding bare-back is terrifying!"

"Where's your sense of adventure kid?!" Casey joyously exclaimed. "This is the ultimate thrill-ride! WAHOO!" Casey flashed rock-on-sings with his hands, and his Hockey-Mask over his face.

"Adventure's great! Flying air-born-rodeo is something else entirely!" Toph shouted back.

"Head's up!" Raph pointed in front of them toward their destination.

"There it is!" Sokka pointed out. "That whole thing is the Palace. The Earth King's chambers should be in the center."

"This seems all too easy." Master Splinter observed.

"Yeah, Long Feng's probably warned the King that we're coming." Katara agreed

"Why would you assume that?" Sokka questioned.

"It's always that kind of luck for us. Always" Raph said.

"Come on, our luck isn't that bad." Sokka said.

"No they're right." Leo agreed. "If we're gonna do this, we need to be careful. We can't risk a ground-attack. We'll use the shadows to sneak in, stealth only."

"You worry too much Leo, I think we're just gonna…" Mikey said but was interrupted by a massive boulder coming they're way that Appa was just barley able to avoid.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Toph exclaimed.

Sokka saw the Earthbender guards throwing boulders towards them. "Surface-To-Air Rocks! More incoming!"

The rocks we're tossed in Appa's direction, which the bison managed to avoid.

"Or we can just fight our way through." Leo sighed as he took out the hook swords, given to him by the late-Jet.

"Look out!" Splinter exclaimed as one boulder was heading to Appa's head, which he used his right fist to shatter with Earthbending.

"Nice kid." Casey complemented.

"Thanks."

"Incoming at twelve o'clock!" Don pointed out as a boulder was coming down towards their front, Aang was able to get that by using Earthbending in his staff to cut the boulder in half.

"Aang! Take Appa down!" Leo ordered. "We're too exposed up here!"

Aang began to direct Appa towards the ground, towards a small army of Earth Kingdom guards that stood on the main path towards the palace. Aang jumped straight down, as did Leo, Raph, Mikey, and Don right behind him. Aang was the first to land, creating an earth-wave to clear away many of the guards, the Turtles all landed beside him bearing their respective weapons. Appa landed right behind Aang where Splinter, Katara, Casey, Toph, and Sokka got off. They all began to run straight to the palace with Leo, Aang, and Splinter at the front.

Two long lines of guards appeared on the sides of the path, one on the right, and the other on the path. They had begun to move and throw several rocks at them.

"Avatar, Toph, Leonardo, Katara!" Splinter began to command. "Cover the group! Raphael and Casey take the left flank! Michelangelo and Donatello on the right!" He ordered as he deflected one boulder with just his fist, and it shattered to dust.

The group did exactly as Splinter instructed. Aang and Toph we're at the front of the pack, using their Earthbending to deflect the rocks and boulders heading their way. Katara was at the left of Appa, creating a long water-whip with an ice-blade at the tip to slice through the rocks coming from the left side; while Leo on the right of Appa used the hook-swords to cut the boulders coming from that direction.

Mikey jumped towards the right, in between a few poles with his nunchucks. He smacked one guard across the face before jumping up and planting his feet on a guard's head, knocking him down before swerving up to use his weapon to hit the guard up the jaw. Don was a bit ahead of him, spinning staff like a helicopter blade to deflect the pebbles shot towards him like a machine gun. He was able to deflect them at such an angle, that they we're able to come back and hit the guards, before Don immobilized all of them with a swing of his staff.

"GOONGALA!" Casey shouted as he jumped towards the left side, swinging his hockey stick in the face of the center-most group of three guards. He then repeated that process in front of him to that guard, and jammed the back end of the stick into the gut of the guard behind him, knocking the wind out of him. Raph was in front of Casey charging to four guards, who all threw boulders at them, which Raph jumped over and used one rock as a springboard to jump above them and dive down. He caught one guard's hand in between his sais and threw him into another. He jumped in between the other two and nailed them in the head with a split-kick.

One group of guards was incoming towards them. Splinter jumped forward and landed in front of them before flashing multiple punches, kicks, and strikes with his walking stick to send them all flying. He moved so fast that he seemed almost like a blur towards them. It wasn't long before they all fell unconscious and the group continued towards the palace.

"Sorry!" Katara said as they ran past. "We just need to get through to see the Earth King."

The group neared a moat with more guards gathering on the other side, but that wouldn't deter this group. Many guards hover lifted large statues of Badgermoles with their Earthbending and threw it down to the group.

"Aang! Toph! Defense!" Leo ordered. They followed his order as they used the ground to make an igloo-like structure to shield the entire group from the incoming statues.

"Katara and Raph! On the other side!" Leo instructed, pointing his sword in the other direction.

The red-clad turtle and the Waterbender both ran towards the moat, Katara took the left side while Raph took the right. She used her Waterbending to make an ice-ramp to give her a boost over the moat. Once she landed, she used her water-whip to knock the guards down into the water below. Raph used his physical strength to jump clean over the moat, much to the guard's shock. He landed behind one and gave a solid kick to knock him into the water. Raph then flipped over to the right most guard and gave a solid punch to knock him to the guard behind him and he both fell. Raph then jumped over an incoming boulder to grab and throw the last guard into the moat.

"Avatar! Freeze them!" Splinter ordered. Aang jumped over the moat and used his Waterbending to freeze it and immobilize the guards trapped in it.

More guards we're on the stairs throwing rocks at them. Leo took the front by hooking one end of the hook-swords onto the hook end of the other and swing them like a long-round blade to cut through all the incoming Rocks. "Casey! Take care of those guards up there!"

"Yo! I need a lift!" Casey exclaimed as he ran to the stairs.

Aang used his Airbending to give Casey a boost, which caused him to land in the middle of the group of guards. Before they could react, he swung his hockey stick in a circular fashion to knock down all the guards, causing them to go falling down the stairs.

More and more guards soon poured out of the palace and down the stairs towards the group.

"Toph, if you would do the honors." Raph urged her with a grin. She responded in kind by using her Earthbending to convert the entire staircase into a ramp, causing all the guards to slide down.

Aang and Toph both worked together to create a platform for the entire group and ride them straight up, past the falling guards.

"Serioulsy! We're actually on you're guys' side!" Sokka told them as they slid down.

"Yeah, sorry guys! Nothing personal!" Mikey also tried.

The group made it up top, towards more incoming guards from both sides. "Aang! Toph!" Leo ordered again.

Toph thrusted to the left, while Aang thrusted to the right. Both created earth-walls to push all the guards back. The group ran inside the palace.

"Donatello! Michelangelo! Casey! Take the front!" Splinter instructed. The three jumped in front and ran into the palace first into a group of guards.

Don took the left side, pole-vaulting over the incoming rocks and planting his feet into the two front-most guards before quickly performing a leg sweep to swipe all the remaining guards off their feet. Casey took the right side, barley dodging the guards while also putting his hockey-stick away and drawing a baseball bat in each hand. Once he reached the guards, he smacked them all hard. One in the gut, another in the face, one on the head, another in the shin, the one after in the kneecap, and the last one up the jaw; they all fell down soon after. Mikey took the group up front, using his nunchucks to shield himself from the boulders. He made it up-front, keeping his nunchucks spinning in front of him and plowing through them all.

"Toph! Which way to the Earth King?" Leo questioned.

"How should I know!? I'm still voting we leave Ba-Sing-Se!" Toph shouted as she made an earth-wave to knock back more guards.

"Sokka, Casey, you guys start looking!" Leo ordered and the two nodded before beginning their search.

Casey looked in one room and found nothing. Sokka looked into another and got the same result. Casey opened his second door and still found nothing. Sokka opened up another and heard a woman's scream as she was probably changing, the woman threw a vase in his direction, forcing Sokka to duck. "Sorry!"

Another group of guards surrounded Master Splinter; it wasn't long before they too fell before the rat master's might, moving too quick for any of them to even think about what was happening. They all fell down soon after.

* * *

Meanwhile; Zuko and Iroh had just returned to their apartment, but for some reason, Zuko was looking worse-for-wear.

"You did the right thing, letting the Avatar's bison go free." Iroh told him, but Zuko was looking quite weak.

"I don't feel right." Zuko uttered. His vision became quite blurry. He felt dizzy before something caused him to fall unconscious.

"Zuko!" Iroh exclaimed in worry as he ran to his nephew's side.

* * *

 _Earth King's Palace_

The group had appeared to have taken down the last of the guards.

"That all of them?" Don asked.

"I hope not." Casey said. "This was the most fun I had all day."

"Same here." Raph agreed.

"However, I would fear that what we just did will leave a bad impression on the Earth King." Splinter advised.

"Not to mention we're gonna have to explain our appearance to him." Leo added. "Not often you're attacked by four giant talking turtles and a giant talking rat."

"I'll just tell him you're warriors of the Spirit World." Aang said. "That's worked up till now."

Sokka and Mikey climbed over a pile of debris and they both spotted a very large and very fancy door.

"Wow. Now that's a door." Mikey observed with wide eyes.

"It's gotta lead somewhere." Sokka said as he got down and ran towards the door. Sokka then made a dramatic kick towards the door, accompanied with a 'Yaa!', only to fail miserably.

"Not you're finest moment there kid." Casey stated.

Aang and Toph both got in front. Aang blasted a gust of air, while Toph made an earth tremor; both attacks resulted in the door breaking down.

The group ran into the chambers where they found the Earth King with his pet bear, Bosco alongside him; along with Long Feng, and at least ten Dai-Li agents.

"Knew it." Raph uttered, as he knew they'd be here.

Leo, Aang, Raph, Katara, Mikey, Toph, Sokka, Don, Casey, and Splinter each made combat stances with their respective weapons or powers, ready to fight.

"Your majesty." Leo began. "I understand this probably looks bad and we do apologize for that, but you need to listen to us."

"Yeah, we need to talk to you." Aang agreed.

"They're here to over-throw you., and in the company of demons no-less!" Long Feng told the Earth King.

"That's a load of bull!" Raph exclaimed.

"We're on you're side." Sokka stated.

"You have to trust us!" Katara added.

All the Turtles grimaced a bit at that, as those we're probably the wrong words to say.

The Earth King stood up from his throne. "You invade my palace, lay waste to all my guards, break down my fancy door, and you expect me to trust you!?"

"He has a good point." Toph said.

"Not helping." Don told her.

"That wouldn't have happened if they didn't attack first!" Casey stated. "We we're just going to walk in and talk with you nicely, until these yahoos went ahead and attacked us first without even saying anything!"

"Yeah, we had no choice!" Mikey added.

"If you're on my side, then drop you're weapons and stand-down." The Earth King told them.

The group looked at each other.

"Do as he says." Splinter replied.

"Sensei?" Leo asked.

"We are allies, not enemies; and this is his home, we must do as he says." Master Splinter explained.

They all sighed before they each let their weapons fall to the floor.

"See?" Aang tried with a friendly smile. "We're friends you're Earthy-ness." He tried.

"You know he's just gonna lock us up." Raph uttered.

Before anyone else could say anything, Long Feng raised his hands, and all the Dai-Li agents flung their rock-gloves forward, which wrapped around each of their hands, before they we're each pulled back as though they we're hand-cuffs. Long Feng bore a smile, while the Turtles, Raph especially, glared at him.

"Called it." Raph said.

"Detain the assailants." Long Feng ordered. The Agents all slid forward and behind each member of the group. As two tried to reach for Master Splinter, he flashed a look before jumping up and performing a split-kick to knock them down, he landed and bashed the rock-cuffs on the ground, breaking them apart, much to the surprise of Long Feng.

"You're majesty." Splinter began. "I understand, you're initial distrust in us; not only for assaulting you're guards and barging in, but for some of us who bare… unusual appearances. However, I urge that you at least listen to what we have to say, and then you alone may decide what to do with us."

The Earth King was surprised at this humanoid-rat's sincerity and considered listening until Long Feng stepped in front.

"Do not listen to him." He turned to his agents. "Make sure these demons, the Avatar, and his friends never see the light of day again!"

"The Avatar?" The Earth King asked in surprise. "You're the Avatar?" He pointed to Splinter.

"No. He is." Splinter gestured to Aang.

"Over here." Aang briefly broke free of the earth-cuffs he was in to show the Earth King before letting them cuff his hands again. "Oh, and these guys here…" He gestured his head towards the Turtles and Splinter. "They're not demons, they're warriors of the Spirit World."

The Earth King bore a look of surprise with amazement. "Spirit Warriors, you say?" Long Feng looked a bit frustrated at that.

"Yeah that's right." Mikey said. "We're best-buds with the Avatar. Beating up bad guys and brining the peace."

"Spirits or not, they are enemies of the state!" Long Feng told the Earth King.

The Earth King considered Long Feng's statement until his pet bear walked up to Aang. He sniffed him a bit before licking his face.

"Though Bosco seems to like him, I'll hear what he has to say." The Earth King said.

The group smiled, while Raph and Casey both flashed smug looks towards Long Feng, which he looked with a glare. Aang and Leo we're the first to step forward.

"Thank you you're majesty." Leo began. "I know this is going to sound much, but you're kingdom is currently at war with the Fire Nation, and has been for the last 100 years."

"Yeah, the Dai-Li has kept it secret from you." Aang continued. "It's a conspiracy to control the city, and to control you."

"A secret war?" The Earth King questioned. "That's crazy!"

"Completely." Long Feng added.

"Long Feng didn't want us to tell you, so he stole our Sky-bison to blackmail us." Aang said.

"And Blackmail is only the least of his crimes." Leo continued. "He threatened all of us, brainwashed an ally of ours and killed him in cold blood."

"All lies." Long Feng told the Earth King. "I've never even seen a Sky-bison you're majesty, frankly I though they we're extinct."

The Earth King sat down in his throne. "You're claim is difficult to believe, even for an Avatar and so-called Spirits."

Long Feng whispered to the king. "These hooligans are part of an anarchist cell that my agents have been tracking for weeks. If you listen to them, you're playing into your own destruction."

The Earth King sighed. "I have to trust my advisor."

The Dai-Li agents we're about to drag them away until Casey spoke up.

"Oh why don't you cut the whole 'never-seen-a-Sky-bison-crap', old man!?" Casey exclaimed to Long Feng. "That thing bit you're leg, so lift that fancy dress of yours up and show everyone, you self-righteous piece of crap!"

Long Feng had a disgusted look on his face. "Ugh. Such vulgarity. I am not disrobing!"

"Why not?" Mikey asked. "Unless you got something to hide." He teased, earning a suspicious look from the Earth King, which he directed towards Long Feng.

"Aang?" Don asked with a grin. "If you would do the honors?"

Aang made a long inhale before blasting a large gust of air towards Long Feng, blowing his robe up and exposing the bite-mar on his right leg.

"Right there! Appa bit him!" Aang exclaimed.

"Never seen a Sky-Bison huh?" Sokka questioned with a smile.

"Try covering that up." Leo told him, while the Dai-Li agents all glared.

Long Feng put his robe down. "That happens to be a large birth-mark, thanks for showing everyone."

"Well, I suppose there's no way to prove where those marks came from." The Earth King says.

"Actually, you're majesty, there is." Master Splinter said.

Within a few minutes; Appa was in the Earth King's chambers. The bison opened his mouth, Aang pointed to one of his teeth and then to Long Feng's mark. They matched.

"Yep, that pretty much proves it." The Earth King said.

The group was happy about that; Team Avatar cheered, while the Turtles high-fived with Casey, while Splinter bore a slight smile.

"But it doesn't prove this crazy conspiracy theory." The Earth King revealed

The group looked dejected at that, while Splinter's look became serious.

"Though…" The Earth King considered. "I suppose this matter's worth looking into."

The group made neutral responses, though it was better than nothing. Long Feng and his Dai-Li agents began to walk away, which Splinter gave a suspicious look at.

* * *

Meanwhile; Zuko was in a bed and appeared to be in a great deal of pain. Iroh was by his side.

"You're burning up." Iroh said. "You have an intense fever." He placed a rag in cold water and put it on Zuko's forehead. "This will help cool you down."

"So thirsty." Zuko said, as his voice was quite dry. He tried to get up, but Iroh helped to place him back down.

Iroh brought a bucket with a ladle in it. "Here is some clean water to drink." He took the ladle. "Stay under the blankets and sweat this out." Iroh gave the ladle to Zuko, he drank all the water in less than a second before Zuko took the whole bucket and drank it.

Zuko threw it to the side as he continued to cough and Iroh placed the blanket over him.

* * *

Meanwhile; a train ran through the Earth Kingdom; most of the people inside all gapped at the sight of the Earth King who stood in the middle of the aisle with a few guards by his side; along with Katara, Casey, Sokka, and Toph.

"So this is what a train is like. I didn't realize it would be this… public."

"If you don't like this, then you're gonna hate New York." Casey uttered.

"So you've never been outside the Upper Ring before?" Katara asked.

"I've never been outside the palace." The Earth King replied.

Casey looked surprise. "Buddy, you really need to get out more."

"You might be right." The Earth King agreed before looking out the side. "Now that's the way to travel!" He pointed to the window where they saw Appa, being flown by Aang, along with Leo, Don, Raph, Mikey, and Splinter, and even Momo.

The Earth King turned to the group inside. "So may I ask where we're going."

"Underneath Lake Laogai, you're kingliness." Sokka answered. "To the Dai Li's secret headquarters. You're about to see where all the brainwashing and conspiring took place"

* * *

 _Lake Laogai_

The group made it to the lake. Toph went towards the beach and took an Earthbending stance, but all she brought up was just a plain trail of rocks.

"It's gone!"

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Raph exclaimed.

"Oh don't tell me…" Sokka quickly calmed down. "That's okay, still got my positive attitude."

"How the heck did this happen?" Mikey questioned. "There was a creepy underground base right here! I know I didn't dream that!"

"The Dai-Li must have known we we're coming and destroyed the evidence." Katara thought.

"They _are_ Earthbenders." Don pointed out. "It would make it all the more easier to cover up an underground base."

The Earth King looked unconvinced. "Hmm, that seems awfully convenient."

"Hey, if anything, this proves the conspiracy exists even more!" Sokka tried.

"No, it really doesn't." Raph told him.

"Long Feng was right, this was a waste of time." The Earth King said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to the palace." He and his guards turned around to leave,

"And there goes our army for the invasion." Raph said. "Knew this wasn't gonna work."

"Master Splinter." Leo began. "You we're there to. There has to be…"

"Long Feng is a master of deception." Splinter interrupted. "However, even the greatest masters of such a nature always have a flaw; something that they cannot cover up."

Those words got Katara's attention as her eyes widened. "The wall! They'll never be able to cover that up in time!"

"You're right!" Don agreed, as he knew what she was talking about. "That thing was massive! And made of metal! Earthbenders can't cover that up, not for at least a year."

Aang used his Airbending to jump and land in front of the Earth King, while Leo ran up to his side.

"You're majesty." Leo began. "I know this whole thing seems like a wild goose-chase, but there is just one last thing we need to show you."

"Yeah, if you come with us to the Outer Wall, we can prove to you the secret-war is real." Aang finished.

"No Earth King has ever been to the Outer Wall." The Earth King walked past them both. "I don't have any time for this nonsense."

Mikey ran up and put his hand on the Earth King's shoulder. "If you come with us, this time you can ride on Appa."

The Earth King stopped with a smile as Appa gave a light roar.

* * *

The Earth King gave a slight scream as he and his guards rode the flying Sky-Bison with the Turtles, Team Avatar, Splinter, and Casey.

"First time flying?" Toph asked.

"It's both thrilling and terrifying!" The Earth King replied.

"Yeah, I hate it to." Toph said.

"Only cause you guys are a couple of wusses." Casey joked.

"Shut up." Toph grimaced.

The Earth King looked towards the front with Leo, Aang, and Splinter. "I have to be honest with you. Part of me is really hopping what you're telling me about this war isn't true."

"I wish it wasn't." Aang replied while Leo and Splinter looked towards the young Avatar with concern.

* * *

As Iroh continued to help the sicken Zuko, he found himself in quite the dream.

Zuko did not have a scar on his face as he sat dressed in the attire of a Fire Lord, in the Fire Nation's throne room, with soldiers sitting in front of him. Two serpent-dragons, one red and one blue, slithered down the side and towards him.

"It's getting late." The Blue Dragon said with Azula's voice. "Are you planning to retire soon, my lord?"

"I'm not tired." Zuko replied.

"Relax, Fire Lord Zuko." The Blue Dragon lulled. "Just let go. Give into it. Shut you're eyes for a while." Zuko's eyes started to lower a bit.

"No Fire Lord Zuko!" The Red Dragon exclaimed with Iroh's voice. "Do not listen to the Blue Dragon! You should get out of here right now! Go! Before it's too late!"

"Sleep now Fire Lord Zuko." The Blue Dragon continued to lull as the entire throne room turned black and all his servants and chambers melted away into the darkness.

Zuko frantically looked around to find anyone in the darkness, until the Blue Dragon slowly came out. "Sleep. Just like mother!" The dragon opened its mouth and lunged at Zuko.

In the darkness, Zuko saw his mother calling out to him. "Zuko! HELP ME!"

Soon a dark figure dressed in silver armor appeared behind Zuko, he turned around as the armored figure raised a clawed gauntlet and brought it down on top of him.

* * *

 _Back in Reality_

Appa, and all those who flew on top of him, finally made it to the Outer Wall. As soon as they passed it, they saw what they we're looking for.

"It's still there!" Aang exclaimed as he pointed to the ruins of the Fire Nation drill they all brought down some time ago.

Casey and Splinter saw this with a look of surprise on both their faces.

"By Bushido…" Splinter breathed.

"Whoa! That is huge!" Casey exclaimed.

"What is that?" The Earth King asked.

"That, you're majesty, is a giant metal drill made by the Fire Nation to break through you're walls and invade the city." Leo answered.

The Earth King could not believe what he was seeing.

The group had landed and dismounted Appa on the top of the wall, just above the broken down drill below them.

"You guys brought that massive thing down by yourselves?" Casey asked.

"Yep." Mikey replied with a smug grin, as he was proud of the achievement.

"And how come I didn't get invited?" Casey questioned with a joking smile, while Raph lightly punched his buddy's shoulder.

"This is truly a war machine, a weapon of mass destruction." Splinter said as he observed the drill.

The Earth King found himself in a state of shame as he placed his hands on the wall. "I can't believe I never knew."

The group bore looks of sympathy while Splinter placed a hand on the king's shoulder. "It was not your fault, your highness. You we're deceived by a lie."

"Yeah, and here comes the liar." Raph said as the group turned to the side to see Long Feng and two Dai-Li agents rise from an earth-elevator.

"I can explain this you're majesty." Long Feng tried. "This is nothing more than a construction project."

"Oh really?" Don questioned.

"Maybe you could also explain why there's a Fire Nation insignia on you're 'construction project'?" Katara stated as the group, and even the Earth King gave suspicious looks to Long Feng.

"Well it's imported of course, you know you can't trust domestic machinery." Long Feng tried.

"Dude, seriously. Even I think that's a lame excuse." Mikey said.

That statement caused Long Feng to look to the unconvinced Earth King.

"Surely you don't believe these children and freaks, over your most loyal attendant!" Long Feng stated.

The Earth King looked in between the two groups. It was a moment of intense silence until Leo spoke to the king directly.

"Your majesty. Whatever decision you make right now, it's your decision, and yours alone. Don't let other people make you're decisions for you."

While Master Splinter gave a slight smile at his eldest son's wisdom, the Earth King took Leo's words to heart and knew what to do. "Dai Li, arrest Long Feng! I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom."

Long Feng bore a look of complete and utter shock; while Team Avatar bore looks of surprise, where as the Turtles and Casey all had smug grins on their faces, which they made sure Long Feng saw. Splinter had a satisfied smile on his face; though he did notice the two Dai-Li agents look to each other before throwing retractable metal cuffs out, which ensnared Long Feng and pulled him into their grip.

"You can't arrest me! You all need me more than you know!" Long Feng exclaimed as he was being dragged off.

"Put a sock in it ya control freak! Raph exclaimed to Long Feng

"Yeah, we need you like we need smelly gym shorts!" Casey agreed with Raph's statement.

"Ah yeah! In you're face guy!" Mikey cheered.

"Looks like Long Feng is long gone!" Sokka joked, only to get slapped by Raph upside the head.

"Way to ruin the moment pony tail."

"Aw come on, it was funny." Sokka replied.

"No, it wasn't." Don said.

* * *

 _Later that night, back at the Palace_

The Earth King sat in his throne alongside his pet bear, Bosco, as he addressed all ten heroes present.

"I want to thank you all, for opening my eyes." The Earth King told them. "All this time, what I thought was a great metropolis, was really a city of fools. And that makes me, the king fool."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Don told him. "Long Feng was you're advisor, you trusted him."

"And it wasn't just you." Leo added. "The whole city fell for Long Feng's act, well not anymore."

"Yeah, now that creep's outta the picture." Raph agreed with a smug grin.

"While I do thank you, it does little to change the situation." The Earth King said as he placed a hand on his face. "We're at war, with the Fire Nation."

"And that is why we're here, your majesty." Leo said. "Because we found a way to possibly end the war once and for all, but we can't do it without your help."

This caught the Earth King's attention.

"We don't have much time." Aang began. "There's a comet coming this summer. It's power will give the Firebenders unbelievable strength, they'll be unstoppable."

"But it's not completely hopeless." Mikey said. "We got a little ace in the hole."

"Before the comet comes, we have a window of opportunity." Sokka added.

"That's right, in just a few months, there's going to be a solar eclipse." Don said. "The moon will block out the son, and all Firebenders will loose their strength during that timeframe."

"What are all of you suggesting?" The Earth King asked.

"That's the day we need to invade the Fire Nation." Sokka answered. "The Day of Black Sun."

The Earth King looked troubled. "I don't know. That would require moving troops out of Ba-Sing-Se. We'd be completely vulnerable."

"With all do respect, you're already vulnerable." Leo stated.

"And thanks to Long Feng, the whole city is in a state of complacency." Don added.

"Plus the Fire Nation won't stop until Ba-Sing-Se falls." Sokka also added.

"You can either sit here like a whiny baby and wait for them to come to you're doorstep." Raph began. "Or, you can stand up for yourself and knock those walking ovens down a notch, put them in their place!"

The Earth King looked somewhat troubled.

"You're majesty." Splinter began. "The times of war are unbearable for everyone, and I understand you're concern for the city; but you must learn to defend yourself. If you are to defeat you're enemy, you must stand up to them. If you back away and hide, the enemy will continue attacking until you break; however, if you take a stand and fight for your beliefs, then you can defeat them. The Fire Nation is powerful, but they are far from invincible; it is now time to strike back; not just for your kingdom, but for all the world."

Aang, Toph, Katara, and even Sokka found themselves moved by Master Splinter's speech; while Leo, Raph, Mikey, Casey, and Donnie all looked unsurprised as this was much like him. The Earth King was now convinced by these words.

"You are quite wise Master Splinter. Very well, you have my support."

The group of heroes we're elated by this news; with a series of hugs, high-fives, and fist-bumps accompanying their cheers.

"Master Splinter. Will you fight with us to?" Leo asked.

"I shall." Splinter replied. "If my sons are to go to war, then I will not stand idly by. I will fight with you."

Leo smiled at his father. "What about you Casey?"

"Are you kidding?" Casey joyously questioned. "Invading the bad guys, beating them with a hockey stick, sign me up!"

"I hear ya buddy." Raph and Casey high-fived.

"You're majesty." A decorated Earth Kingdom general entered the chambers, getting everyone's attention, and bowed before the Earth King. "I apologize for the interruption."

"This is General How." The Earth King introduced to the heroes. "He's the leader of the Council of Five. My highest ranking generals."

General How stood up. "We searched Long Feng's office, I think we found something that will interest everybody."

* * *

 _Long Feng's office_

General How carried a locked-box towards the Earth King who sat at the desk, and all the heroes stood alongside him.

"There are secret files on everyone in Ba-Sing-Se, including you kids." General How said to Team Avatar.

"Secret files?" Aang questioned.

"If I had to guess, in order for Long Feng to keep an eye on any potential, 'trouble-makers'." Leo guessed.

The Earth King took out a scroll and read it. "Toph Beifong." He handed it to Toph who handed it to Katara. She unrolled it and read the contents.

"It's a letter from you're mom." Katara began. "You're mom's here in the city, and she wants to see you."

Toph and Raph both looked surprised at that. "Long Feng intercepted our letters from home? That's just said."

"Agreed." Raph said.

"Yeah, that guy seriously needs a hobby." Casey agreed.

General How took out another scroll and handed it to Aang. "This scroll was attached to the horn of your bison when the Dai-Li captured it."

Leo walked to Aang's side. "What does it say?"

"It's from the Eastern Air Temple."

Katara and Sokka looked somewhat hopeful. "Is there a letter for me and Sokka by any chance?" She asked.

Long Feng looked inside. "I'm afraid not."

The Water Tribe siblings looked disappointed; Mikey put a hand on Katara's shoulder with Don doing the same for Sokka.

"But there is an intelligence report that might interest you." General How handed said report to the siblings.

Katara began to read the contents. "A small fleet of Water Tribe ships?"

"What?" Sokka asked. "That could be Dad."

Katara continued to read. "Protecting the mouth of Chameleon Bay… Led by Hakoda… it is Dad!" She and Sokka bore excited looks.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Zuko and Iroh's apartment. Iroh began to pour some tea.

"You should know that this is not a natural sickness." Iroh told his nephew. "But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying tea." Iroh gave Zuko some tea to drink.

"Wh… wha… what's happening?" The weakened Zuko asked.

"Your critical decision." Iroh answered. "What you did beneath that lake. It was in such conflict with your image of yourself, that you are now at war within your own mind and body."

"What's that mean?" Zuko questioned, followed by a series of coughs.

"You are going through a metamorphosis, my nephew." Iroh explained. "It will not be a pleasant experience. But when you come out of it, you will be the beautiful prince you we're always meant to be."

Iroh continued to nurse the ailing Zuko.

* * *

Back at Long Feng's office; Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph, along with Momo, all sat down in the middle of the room, letting this entire new news sink in.

"I can't believe it." Aang stated. "There's a man living at the Eastern Air Temple, he says he's a Guru."

"What's a Guru?" Sokka asked. "Some kind of poisonous blowfish."

"No a spiritual expert." Aang replied. "He wants me to take the next step in the Avatar Journey. He says he can teach me to control the Avatar State!"

"And I can't believe we know where our dad is now!" Katara said with joy evident in her voice.

"I know what you mean." Toph said. "My mom's in the city, and from her letter, it sounds like she finally understands me."

"This is all such big news, where do we even start?" Sokka asked.

"I hate to say it, but we have to split up." Katara stated.

"'Split up'?!" Aang questioned. "We just found Appa and got the family back together! Now you want us to separate?!"

"You have to meet this Guru, Aang." Katara told him. "If we're going to invade the Fire Nation, you need to be ready."

Aang knew she was right. "Well… if I'm going to the Eastern Air Temple, Appa and I can drop you off at Chameleon Bay to see your dad."

Sokka stood up. "Someone has to stay here with the Earth King and help him plan for the Invasion. I guess that's me."

Katara stood up with him. "No Sokka, I know how badly you want to help Dad. You go to Chameleon Bay, I'll stay here with the king."

Sokka had some tears of joy in his eyes. "You are…" he began to squeak. "The nicest… sister… ever!" He exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. He was about to kiss Katara on the cheek, but she pushed him away a bit.

"Easy there, big brother." Katara said. "Though, you're right. I am."

Meanwhile, outside the office; The Turtles, Casey, and Splinter heard the whole thing.

"Man, those kids are something else, aren't they?" Casey said.

"That's putting it mildy." Don agreed.

"So what's the plan Leo?" Mikey asked.

"Well, I think it's best we split up as well with them. I'll go with Aang to the Eastern Air Temple to meet this Guru and see if I can help." Leo stated.

"And I shall accompany you as well, my son." Splinter agreed.

"I'll stay here with Toph, make sure her mom's for real here." Raph said.

"You're really quite attached to this kid, ain't ya?" Casey asked Raph with a knowing smile.

"Hey, we both love smashing stuff, and we share a mutual need for destruction. That kid's awesome." Raph said with a confident smile. "What about you Case-man? What you doing?"

"I'll stay here in this city and explore a bit." Casey told them. "There's tea-shop that I was at that I'd like to go to again."

To say the Turtles we're surprised was an understatement.

"Whoa, Casey liking tea?" Don questioned.

"Who are you and what have you done with Casey Jones?" Mikey questioned as well.

"Hey, this old man knows how to brew a drink." Casey pointed out. "Plus he's got this nephew kid that I've taken a liking to."

"A new friend?" Leo asked.

"I sure hope so." Casey said. "There's something about that kid that reminds me of myself almost, I like him." He said with a smile.

"I'd love to meet this guy." Raph said.

Splinter gave a nod. "Michelangelo, Donatello, what will you be doing?"

"I think I'm gonna go with Sokka and meet his dad." Mikey said. "From what I hear, that guy is awesome."

"I'm going to. Just in case they run into any Fire Nation soldiers and need some help." Don also said.

"Then that settles it." Leo said.

"My sons." Master Splinter began as his mood became serious. "I noticed that you have not mentioned to Aang and his friends of the Foot."

Everyone's mood became serious with that comment.

"Yeah, aren't those guys the reason we're all here in the first place?" Casey asked.

"They don't know too much." Don began. "We ran into Hun and Stockman a while back, at that Drill but that's pretty much it."

"Yeah, as far as those kids now, the Foot is just a small clan of warriors working with the Fire Nation." Raph added.

"But they don't know about… him." Leo said with a grimace. "We haven't ran into him at all yet."

"Yeah, but with Hun and Stockman, he can't be too far behind." Mikey said.

Splinter stroke his beard in contemplation. "Are you sure this is a wise desciion."

"Aang's already got enough problems with just the Fire Lord." Leo said. "But… he is far worse than anything the Fire Nation could ever hope to be. I just… I don't want Aang to have to worry about that."

"The more you try to conceal something my son, the more difficult the revelation will be." Splinter advised.

"I know Sensei." Leo said. "But… Aang's not ready; they're not ready, not to hear about him or even face him."

"Yeah, if he is here though, we'll take care of him before Aang can notice."

"I hope you guys are right about this." Casey told them.

"As do I." Splinter added.

* * *

 _The Next Morning._

The Earth King and several guards stood outside the palace as they faced Aang, Leo, Splinter, Katara, Toph, Mikey, Raph, Sokka, Don, and Casey; most we're all ready to part to their respective destinations.

Leo saw Aang turn around to face Katara who was petting the bison. "Katara…" Aang began. "I need to tell you something. I've been wanting to say it for a long time." Aang said with a blush.

"What is it Aang?" Katara asked.

Leo gave a slight smile at this scene until a certain idiot interrupted it.

"Katara… I…"

Sokka, being the idiot he was, put his arm around Aang and gave him a slight noogie. "Alright! Who's ready to get going on our little men-only-man trip!?" He said with glee, while Katara looked somewhat peeved.

Leo pinched the bride between his eyes at Sokka's action. Casey walked up towards Leo. "He's not that bright, is he?"

"No. No he's not." Leo replied to Casey.

The Earth King began to address some of the group. "Leonardo, Aang, Master Splinter, Sokka, Michelangelo, and Donatello; I wish you all a good journey. Ba-Sing-Se owes you its thanks, and we look forward to your safe return." They all bowed in response.

"No prob. Happy to help your royal Earthness." Mikey told the king.

Sokka and Mikey prepared to climb on when a guard approached the king. "You're majesty, there are four female warriors here to see you. They're from the island of Kyoshi."

"That's Suki!" Sokka exclaimed as he fell back, while Raph and Mikey laughed at his misfortune.

"You know these women?" Master Splinter asked.

Sokka stood straight up. "Oh yeah. The Kyoshi Warriors are a skilled group of fighters, trustworthy to. They're good frineds of ours."

"We ran into them on our way to the city, so we can vouch for them." Don added.

"Then we shall welcome them as honored guests." The Earth King announced.

Aang was about to climb onto Appa.

"Wait… Aang." Katara then pulled him into a hug before kissing him on the cheek; something that made Leo smile a bit with crossed arms.

"I'm really gonna miss you guys." Toph said to the Gaang.

"Me to." Katara replied.

"Yeah." Aang added as they hugged Toph, Sokka was pulled in as well.

Leo, Splinter, Raph, Casey, Don, and Mikey smiled at this group's actions, but we're all caught off guard when the Gaang all hugged them as well in one big group hug.

"Okay…." Casey breathed.

"Yeah, yeah, we all love each other." Raph said.

"Ugh… please…my spine." Master Splinter said as he was being crushed by all the weight; they all released.

Appa then took of into the sky with Aang, Leo, Splinter, Sokka, Mikey, and Don.

* * *

Back at the apartment, Zuko woke up from his painful sleep. He looked to find his uncle asleep next to him. Zuko got up and went to the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face and looked in the mirror but yelled in horror at his face; his scar was gone, he was bald and had an arrow on his head. But behind him in the mirror was the same silver armored man from the previous dream. Zuko turned around suddenly as the armored man brought his clawed gauntlet down on him.

Zuko woke up from the nightmare with a shriek. After taking many deep breaths, he turned around to see no one was there. He felt along his face and his scar was still there, causing him to breath a sigh of relief.

* * *

Appa had now flown out of Ba-Sing-Se with its passengers on-board.

"See guys." Sokka said to the group. "A little positive thinking works wonders. We got the king on our side, we got Long Feng arrested, and when we get back; Suki's waiting for me."

"Yeah." Aang said in a slow and peaceful tone. "Girls are waiting for us. Thanks positive attitude."

"Well I agree that this is indeed a victory, you must not rest on your lorals. For you're guard is down when you sleep." Splinter advised.

"Why would you assume that?" Sokka asked.

"It means we should still be on guard." Leo advised. "We still have a long way to go."

"True." Sokka admitted but still kept his smile up. "But now everything's going to work out perfectly; from now on and forever."

While Aang and Sokka shared smiles; Leo, Splinter, Don, and even Mikey shared looks of concern, as there may still be one thing that can turn this whole situation around from good to horrible quickly.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se dungeon_

In a cell at the furthest end of the hall; Long Feng sat on the floor up against the wall on the side. A tray of food was slid into his cell.

"Dinner." A Dai-Li agent delivered the food. Long Feng took a roll before the agent spoke. "The Council of Five and the military are loyal to the Earth King; but the Dai-Li remains loyal to you, Long Feng sir."

The agent left. Long Feng took a bite of the roll with a sinister smile on his face, indicating that he wasn't done quite yet.

* * *

Toph and Raph, who now bore a hooded-robe, we're standing in front of a house.

"This is the place." Toph said. "I guess we should go in right? I mean…"

"Toph, one second." Raph interrupted. He kneeled down in front of her. "It might not be the best thing for your mom to see a big green turtle right now. The letter was for you, now go see her kiddo."

"But… but what about you?" Toph asked, feeling quite nervous.

"I'll be right outside, don't worry." Raph said. Toph looked down a bit, but Raph took both her shoulders. "Hey kid, I'm not going anywhere. There ain't nothing breaking up this team. I mean that."

Toph smiled. "Thanks Raph."

She got up and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. However it wasn't locked, much to Raph's surprise. Toph slowly entered the house, and Raph stuck a bit close behind her, with a hand on his hidden sai, indicating he didn't like this situation.

"Hello? Mom? Anyone home?" Toph called out.

Raph soon sensed something and his eyes widened. "TOPH MOVE!"

It was too late, a metal cage dropped down from the ceiling and trapped Toph inside. Right after that happened, a large rock pillar impacted Raph in the gut and sent him flying to the wall, knocking him unconscious.

Toph banged on the inside of the cage. "What the?! Raph! Hey! Who do you guys think you're dealing with?!"

Xin-Fu and Yu both walked out of the shadows. "One loud-mouth-little brat, who strayed too far from home."

* * *

 _Earth King's Palace_

Two long lines of Earth Kingdom guards stood in a military fashion as four young women clad in Kyoshi Warrior uniforms walked down the aisle towards the palace and towards the Earth King.

"In our hour of need, it is with the highest honor that I welcome our esteemed allies, the Kyoshi Warriors!" The Earth King greeted as the four bowed.

"We are the Earth King's humble servants." One of them responded; this was in fact Azula, disguised as a Kyoshi Warrior, with Mai and Ty-Lee beside her. Right behind them was Karai, who was also disguised as a Kyoshi Warrior, as per her a father's plan to infiltrate the city.

All now falls in place. This city shall soon be at the mercy of a new master, but it's not the Fire Nation.

 **Done. This was quite a long chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it. And just a future warning, starting with the next chapter; the plot is going to be slightly different from the cannon Avatar storyline. You'll see soon. I look forward to seeing how you all react to what is to fall upon our heroes.**


	12. A Dark Collaboration

**Hello everyone. Sorry for the long wait, I was on vacation for quite some time. Anyway, I'm back now. So let us get started. This chapter is where things will begin to slightly deviate from the cannon Avatar franchise; and a quick reminder; these characters are from the 2003 TMNT series. I own neither franchise, don't sue me.**

 **A Dark Collaboration**

Raph groaned as he felt his head, waking up in the house that he and a certain Earthbender entered some time ago. "What the shell happened?" He then remembered what had just happened "Toph!" Raph drew his sais and looked around to see no one was there.

Raph looked out the window to see some tracks heading off in a certain direction. Raph growled as he remembered the two men who did this. "Those punks are gonna pay." Raph jumped out the window and followed the trail. "Don't worry Toph, I'm coming."

* * *

 _Upper Ring apartment_

It was early in the morning in the new residence of Zuko and Iroh in Ba-Sing-Se. Iroh was at the stove cooking something. Zuko entered the kitchen, having just woken up.

"What's that smell?"

Iroh was stirring some form of white liquid in a boiling pot. "It's juke." He answered. "I'm sure you wouldn't like it."

Zuko sniffed the juke a bit. "Actually, it smells delicious." He said with a sincere smile. "I'd love a bowl, Uncle."

Iroh looked somewhat confused at the new change in Zuko's attitude. "Now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow." Iroh observed as he poured some juke into Zuko's bowl.

"It's a new day." Zuko began. "We got a new apartment, new furniture, and today's the grand opening of your new tea shop." Zuko looked out the window with a smile. "Thing's are looking up Uncle." He drank some of the Juke.

Iroh looked surprised before a smile formed on his face.

* * *

 _Chameleon Bay_

Appa landed just outside the bay; the bison's passengers consisting of Aang, Leo, Master Splinter, Sokka, Don, and Mikey.

Aang was optimal as ever. "You haven't seen your dad in over two years." He said to Sokka. "You must be so excited."

"I don't think excitement comes to mind here." Leo observed while looking at Sokka as though he we're about to throw up.

"I know I should be…. But I just feel sick to my stomach."

"That's just you being nervous." Don explained to Sokka.

"Don't worry, he'll be so happy to see you." Aang told Sokka as he put a hand on his shoulder. Another was accompanied by Master Splinter.

"Everyone has this feeling when they are reunited with a loved one, whom they have not seen in quite some time." Splinter consoled. "Let your heart and instincts tell you what it is you do."

Sokka smiled at both they're encouragements.

"Yeah, cause you can't listen to you're brain, not much going on up there." Mikey joked, resulting in Splinter pinching his neck.

"What about you, Aang?" Sokka asked the young Avatar. "Are you nervous to see this guru?"

"Not at all." Aang replied. "I'm ready to master the Avatar State. I'll do whatever it takes."

"And you'll have us to be there with you Aang." Leo told him, gesturing to himself and Splinter.

Sokka, Don, and Mikey all jumped down. "We'll see you guys later." Mikey told them.

"Watch yourselves my sons." Splinter advised Don and Mikey, who bowed to there sensei.

"See you guys in a week." Aang told the group. He snapped Appa's reins. "Yip, yip!" With that, Appa took off, carrying Aang, Leo, and Master Splinter.

Sokka looked down towards the bay and took a deep breath.

"So you're dad's down there huh?" Mikey asked.

"Yep." Sokka replied.

"Don't worry Sokka." Don said. "No matter what happens, we're here for ya."

"Thanks guys."

With that; the young Water Tribe warrior and two Turtles went down towards the bay.

Sokka was the first to enter the campground, drawing the attention of all the Water Tribe warriors. Once he was in the middle, they all looked at him with smiles and gave him friendly, manly greetings. However, once Mikey and Don came in; the warriors all looked quite surprised and pointed many spears towards them.

"Uh… awkward." Mikey said as he and Don raised their hands, but Sokka quickly jumped in front of them.

"No, it's okay, they're with me. They're friends." Sokka told them.

The Water Tribe warriors all looked towards each other, once Sokka put in a good word for the Turtles, the warriors lowered there arms and let them pass. They opened a path towards the main Water Tribe tent, no doubt having the chief inside.

Sokka still looked nervous, but Don nudged his shoulder and gave him a nod and smile. Sokka inhaled deeply as he walked forward.

He reached the main tent and opened it to see many Water Tribe warriors planning and strategizing. One warrior in particular, Bato, a close family-friend noticed Sokka's presence. He nudged the shoulder of Hakoda, who looked towards the entrance to see his son.

"Sokka." He greeted with a smile.

"Hi dad."

Within seconds, father and son both embraced each other. Don and Mikey watched this from outside the tent. Mikey sniffled a bit as he rubbed his eye.

"Oh man." Mikey turned to Don. "I love family moments." He latched onto his brother and comically cried while Don gave a raised eyebrow and amused smile at his younger brother's antics, patting Mikey on the shell.

* * *

 _Earth King's Throne Room_

Back in Ba-Sing-Se; the Kyoshi Warriors, who were really Karai, Azula, Mai, and Ty-Lee in disguise, sat on they're knees in front of the Earth King in his throne room as he had his beloved pet bear by his side.

"Look Bosco." The Earth King spoke to his bear. "The Kyoshi Warriors are here to protect us." He pulled the cheeks of his bear a bit. "Aren't you excited?"

"We are honored to be here, your majesty." The Disguised-Karai greeted with a bowing gesture.

The Earth King smiled at this. "It's been a difficult week for me. My most trusted advisor, Long Feng and his Dai-Li agents, tried to take control of Ba-Sing-Se from me."

"It's terrible when you can't trust the people who are closest to you." The Disguised-Azula replied. Karai gave a slight glare towards Azula.

" _You are certainly one to talk."_ Karai thought.

"But there is good news." The Earth King began to explain. "As we speak, the Council of Five is meeting to plan an invasion of the Fire Nation this summer! On the day of a solar eclipse!"

Azula's eyes slightly widened, which Karai noticed, but Azula surprised her surprise quite well. "Really? Well that sounds like a fascinating and brilliant plan."

Mai and Ty-Lee both glanced towards each other. Karai had a sinking feeling about this plan her father instructed; there was no honor in any of this.

 _Ba-Sing-Se Military Headquarters._

* * *

The five Earth Kingdom generals, along with Katara, were making plans on the invasion. They all sat at a massive table that held the map of the Four Nations on it's surface.

"General Fong's base will serve as the launching point for the attack." One Earth General began to explain. "In exactly two months, the army and navy will invade the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun." He used his Earthbending to move the pieces towards the Fire Nation illustration on the map; only for Momo to tackle and grab the pieces.

"Or we can send in Momo to do some damage." Katara joked, as Momo knocked down some of the pieces, but the generals did not share the same humor as the young girl. "Sorry."

The general used his Earthbending to straighten up the pieces, startling Momo and causing him to run back to Katara. He held out a scroll. "All we need is the Earth King's seal, in order to execute the plan." He used his Earthbending to push a block with the scroll on top towards Katara who took the scroll.

"I'll get these scrolls to him right away." Katara said as she stood up. "Thank you General How." She then left the chambers.

* * *

The sun was now beginning to set as Appa flew with Aang, Leo, and Splinter on top. They saw the structure come into view.

"Is that it?" Leo asked.

"Yeah that's it. The Eastern Air Temple." Aang answered.

"Truly magnificent. Such great architecture." Splinter marveled.

As they flew closer, Leo noticed something down below. "There's someone down there." He pointed towards a spot where an elderly man was meditating.

"I believe that is who we are searching for." Master Splinter said as Appa touched down.

"Um… Hello?" Aang tried to greet as he, Leo, and Splinter got off and made there way to the man.

"We're sorry to bother you, but we're looking for someone." Leo began as the group walked up to him.

"You're Guru Pahtik? The person who attached the message to Appa's horn?" Aang asked.

"Indeed." Pahtik replied as he opened his eyes. "Welcome Avatar, and I see you brought some guests with you. I must say, I certainly didn't expect to see a turtle and a rat that walk and talk like men." He gave a slight laugh. "Oh, the universe is filled with such wonders."

"Indeed it is." Splinter agreed. "I am Splinter." The rat-master greeted with a bow. "This is my eldest son, Leonardo."

"It's an honor." Leo also greeted with a bow of his own. "So then, you live here in this temple?"

"I do." Pahtik answered. "I was a spiritual brother of your people, and a personal friend of Monk Gyatso."

That caught Aang's attention. "In your note, it said you could teach me how to gain control of the Avatar State." He began as he, Leo, and Splinter sat down in meditative positions. "How?"

"You must gain balance within yourself, before you can bring balance to the world. Is that the reason you two have come here as well?" Pahtik asked the two mutants.

"Yeah, we're here to help Aang however we can." Leo told him.

"Yes, and perhaps seek spiritual enlightenment of our own." Splinter added.

"You are all quite welcome to join us." Pahtik told them. "Now the first step in gaining balance begins with this." He pulled out three coconut-cups filled with some liquid.

They each took a drink. Splinter drank it and wasn't bothered by it. Leo and Aang both looked to each other and shrugged before they too began to drink. Once it hit each of their respective taste-buds however, their eyes each widened and they both spat towards each other; the spitted drink collided and fell to the ground.

"Ugh, what is that?!" Leo exclaimed as he rubbed his tongue, not liking the taste of this drink.

"It tastes like onion and banana juice!" Aang said in disgust.

"That's because it is." Pahtik replied. He too drank some. "Yum yum."

"Sensei?" Leo asked.

"What? It is quite delicious." Splinter replied as Leo and Aang looked to each other in surprise and confusion.

* * *

Meanwhile on the road; Xin-Fu and Yu were both in an ostrich-horse carriage with a metal-container chained on top. The two we're on their way back to the Beifong home, not caring too much that they've just kidnapped a twelve-year-old girl.

"I believe we need to go right!" Yu told his partner.

"What are you talking about? The Beifong estate's this way!" Xin-Fu argued.

"I'm quite certain, you're mistaken." Yu argued back.

Toph meanwhile banged from inside the box. "Hey! Can you two old ladies quit you're bickering for a second! I gotta go to the bathroom!"

"Oh… um… Okay." Yu took out a key to the box. "But make it quick." We was about to unlock the box, but Xin-Fu grabbed his wrist.

"What's wrong with you!?"

Yu's eyes slightly widened. "Oh!" He caught onto the trick. "Very sneaky Toph. Nice try, but you can't trick me."

Toph banged even harder. "Let me outta here so I can kick both your butts! And what did you do with Raph!?"

Xin-Fu banged harder on the outside of the box to shut her up. "Quit your banging! Your friend is taking a nice long nap back in Ba-Sing-Se. And you may _think_ you're the greatest Earthbender in the world, but even you can't bend Metal."

Toph began to feel along the inside of her box.

Meanwhile; not too far from the trail; Raph has been following the wheel tracks for a few hours now. He felt along the ground and the tracks.

* * *

"I'm getting closer." Raph said to himself. "Don't worry Toph, I'm coming." He ran down the train. While he ran he couldn't help but think. He heard from Toph about her strained relationship with her parents; being overprotective is one thing, but sending bounty hunters to kidnap your daughter is something else entirely. Once Raph was done with these chumps, he was going to have a nice long talk with Mr. and Mrs. Beifong.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se_

Night had fallen over the city. Within the guest quarters of the disguised Kyoshi Warriors; Azula, Karai, Mai, and Ty-Lee we're removing there makeup and outer clothing from the uniforms that we're stolen from the real Kyoshi Warriors.

"We have been presented with an extraordinary opportunity girls." Azula said.

"Mai finally gets to wear make up that's not totally depressing?" Ty-Lee joked.

"Ha, ha." Mai laughed sarcastically.

"I'm talking about conquering the whole Earth Kingdom." Azula announced, getting the attention of Mai and Ty-Lee especially. "For a hundred years, the Fire Nation has hammered away at Ba-Sing-Se from the outside. But now we're on the inside, and we can take it by ourselves."

"Gosh, you're so confident, I really admire that about you." Ty-Lee said.

Azula looked out the window towards the city. "From the inside, we're in perfect position to organize a coop and overthrow the Earth King. The key is the Dai-Li, who ever controls the Dai-Li controls Ba-Sing-Se."

"Actually, the Dai-Li won't be necessary." Karai spoke up, getting the attention of all three girls.

"I beg your pardon Karai." Azula questioned.

"As I said, they won't be necessary." Karai spoke. "The Foot are more than capable of achieving this feat."

"Oh? And how prey tell would you expect your forces to break into this city if the Fire Nation has been unable to do for the last century?" Azula questioned.

"We are not the Fire Nation." Karai said to Azula. "The Drill…"

"The Drill failed." Azula interrupted.

"It was meant to only pierce the outer wall, which it has." Karai began to explain. "You recall Baxter Stockman heavily modified the drill; he was able to alter the design so that now that it's broken into the outter wall, my father and his forces can now enter the city."

Even Azula was surprised at this.

"You made the Drill into some kind of moving tunnel?" Mai asked.

"For lack of better term, yes." Karai replied.

"Your…. Dad… is in the… city?" Ty-Lee spoke with fear, as Karai's father was quite terrifying to her.

"He and his forces should be entering the city as we speak." Karai replied.

"I was not informed of this plan." Azula said.

"My father's orders." Karai told Azula. "The less who knew, the better."

* * *

Outside; back at the Outer Wall near the outskirts of the city of Ba-Sing-Se as well; the Drill still remained where it was; it had pierced the Outer Wall. Soon, the front end of the drill began to change; as a lower part of it began to slowly open upwards like some form of door.

Once it was opened; at least five dozen Foot Ninja began to quietly and quickly run out. Once they all left; Hun and Stockman both walked outside as well; right behind them we're the four Elite Foot Ninja, the very same who defeated and captured Suki and the other Kyoshi Warriors some time ago.

Once all the Foot soldiers we're outside, they turned around to the last person exiting the Drill. They all kneeled before him. Shredder slowly walked out and onto the ground. He looked to the distance at the sight of Ba-Sing-Se. Lightning flashed in the night sky as Shredder laughed manically.

* * *

 _Eastern Air Temple_

Night had fallen at the temple as well. Aang, Leo, and Splinter stood with Pahtik outside near a small stream.

"In order to master the Avatar State, you must open all the Chakras." Pahtik told Aang. "And, tell me everything you know about Chakras."

"What are Chakras?" Aang asked, as he had no clue. He looked towards Leo.

"I don't know anything either." Leo said with a shrug. Splinter gave a slight sigh while slightly shaking his head.

"Oh… I see. I guess we'll start with the basics." Pahtik said.

"I shall help explain as well." Master Splinter said. "Chakras are pools of energy that lie inside the body of an individual being. They each deal with a series of emotions as well as outside forces; in order to see whether they have been closed or open, one must look towards the events that helped shape them into who they are now."

"Yes indeed." Pahtik agreed as he too began to explain and illustrate. "The water here flows through this creek much like how the energy flows through each of our bodies. As you can see there are several pools the water must enter before flowing on."

"So these pools are the equivalent of chakras inside each of our bodies?" Leo questioned.

"Exactly." Pahtik said.

"However, life is anything but simple." Master Splinter also continued to explain. "There are many events that help shape our lives and can also hurt and traumatize us, as we are all aware of. These traumas and shames help block our energy and prevent us from attaining our own inner balance."

"What troubles us keeps us from being balanced?" Aang guessed.

"Yes, that is correct." Splinter replied.

"But if we open the paths between the pools…" Pahtik lifted some algae from one of the pools, allowing water to flow through the creek.

"The energy flows." Leo and Aang both finished at the same time.

* * *

The four have entered the mouth of a deep cave; all four sat down in a meditative position as Pahtik explained more to the group.

"There are seven Chakras that go up the body. Each pool of energy has a purpose, and can be blocked by a specific kind of emotional much." Pahtik explained. "Be warned, opening the Chakras is an intense experience, and once you start, you cannot stop until all seven are open."

"It's not easy." Leo said. "But nothing worth having ever is."

"Yes, are you ready for this, young Avatar?" Splinter asked him.

Aang was slightly nervous. "You guys are still with me?"

"We'll see this through with you all the way Aang, promise." Leo assured.

Aang smiled. "I'll do whatever it takes." He told Pahtik. He began his meditation.

"First we will open the Earth Chakra, located at the base of the spine." Pahtik began. "It deals with survival and is blocked by fear. What are you most afraid of? Let your fears become clear to you"

As Aang meditated; he began experiencing visions. The entirety of the vision was red as memories entered his mind. These we're visions of enemies attacking him, friends in danger, Sozin's comet approaching, and his own fear of himself in the Avatar State. While also, Leo experienced similar visions; such as his first fight with the Foot Elite, in which he almost lost his life and gained his own fear of them for a while. Aang's fear became clear as his red vision was surrounded by blood red fire as the silloutes of Fire Lord Ozai stood in front of him. Aang screamed as a result.

"Aang, your vision is not real." Pahtik explained to him. "You are concerned for your survival, but you must surrender your fears."

"I know what you're feeling Aang." Leo said. "There was a time where I was consumed by my own fear as well; but fear is only natural, and you have to accept that it's not there."

"Fear is but a distraction, Aang." Splinter also began. "It can cloud your judgment and make it seem like your goal is an impossible one. You must learn to face it, ignore the fear young one, and become who you are meant to be."

Aang resumed his mediation as he let all their advice enter his body. He took a deep breath and let all his fears flow down. His red vision ended.

"You have opened your Earth Chakra." Pahtik said to Aang.

"Well, one down, six to go." Leo joked a bit to Aang.

* * *

The group was now behind a waterfall.

"Next is the…"

"Water Chakra?" Aang guessed.

"Brillaint!" Pahtik congratulated.

"Well with the water fall it was kind of a dead give away." Leo gestured behind as Splinter gave a slight amused chuckle. "So, what's this Chakra about?"

"This Chakra deals with pleasure, and is blocked by guilt." Pahtik continued to explain. "Now, look at the guilt that borders you so, what do you blame yourself for?"

Leo looked towards Aang with concern, knowing that there is much that he blames himself for.

"I ran away." Aang whispered as orange visions entered his mind. These we're of him running away from the Southern Air Temple, entering the Avatar State in rage and destroying everything in his path. "I hurt all these people."

"Aang." Splinter began. "Bad things can and will always happen; you need to accept that there are some things that are just beyond your control."

"I know that you feel responsible for many things, including the war and the deaths of most of the Air Nomads." Leo began. "But ask yourself; we're you the one who told the Fire Nation to attack the Air Temples? We're you the one who ordered all those atrocities to happen during this war?"

"No." Aang replied.

"Exactly." Leo told him. "You may be the Avatar, but you're not a god. There are things that even you can't do. And all those people who blame you for this war, they just can't take responsibility for themselves, ignore those people."

"My sons have told me of how forgiving you are." Splinter began. "If you are so quick to forgive those around you, why is it so difficult for you to forgive yourself? You must accept these things, do not blame yourself for every bad thing that has happened; forgive yourself."

Aang inhaled deeply as he let all his shame and the blame he put himself all flow downward. He has now opened the Water Chakra.

* * *

 _Chameleon Bay_

Sokka, after reuniting with his Dad, explained the situation of the Turtles to him. He told them of how they we're from another world, which Hakoda found to be quite amazing. Now they we're planning and explaining the role here the Water Tribe Warriors we're playing at Chameleon Bay.

"This bay leads directly to the outskirts of Ba-Sing-Se." Hakoda explained to Sokka, Don, and Mikey. "We've been using these tangled-mines to keep Fire Nation ships from getting through."

"Your father invented tangled-mines himself." Bato told Sokka as he put the substance in one of said mines.

"Impressive." Don admitted as he looked at the mines.

"Destructive, buoyant…" Sokka also took a liking to them as well.

Mikey sniffed it. "Ugh what smells like rotten meat?!"

"The mines are filled with skunk-fish and sea-weed." Hakoda replied.

"So when they explode…" Don guessed. "The sea-weed tangles their rotter while the foul odor forces the soldiers to abandon ship."

"Bingo." Hakoda said. "I call it the 'Stink-n-Sink'."

Sokka and Mikey both laughed at the name. "Good one dad!" Sokka laughed along with Mikey; while Don and Bato just rolled their eyes.

"He's defiantly his father's son." Bato told Don in reference to Sokka.

"Hey uh… Mr. Hakoda." Don began. "If I may, perhaps we can add a little something to these mines. If we strap more together, in the form of clusters; once one explodes, it'll send the others flying too all the other surrounding ships."

Hakoda began to think. "Hmmm, that's actually a brilliant idea. Why didn't I think of it?"

"Because your not Donnie." Mikey nudged him, causing Hakoda to give an amused smile with a raised eyebrow; he liked these Turtles more and more.

One Water Tribe Warrior came up to the group. "Hakoda, our scouts have spotted four Fire Nation ships."

The warriors all got serious. "Bato, get these mines loaded up. The rest of you men, prepare for battle." Hakoda told the warriors under his command, who all went to follow his orders.

"Uh… what should I do Dad?" Sokka asked.

"What about us?" Mikey also asked, referring to himself and Don.

"Weren't you listening?" Hakoda questioned. "I said the rest of you _men_ get ready for battle."

The three smiled at this. "Dude, we're men now!" Mikey exclaimed. "Time to kick some shell!" He took out his nunchucks in anticipation.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se_

The Jasmine Dragon Tea Shop was now open, and on it's second day it was already packed.

"Who thought when we came to this city as refugees, that I'd end up owning my own Tea-Shop?" Iroh said as he and Zuko saw their busy shop. "Follow your passion Zuko, and life will reward you."

"Congratulations Uncle." Zuko said with honesty evident in his voice.

"I'm very thankful."

"You deserve it." Zuko told his uncle. "The Jasmine Dragon will be the best Tea Shop in the city."

"No, I'm thankful because you decided to share this special day with me." Iroh said to his nephew. "It means more than you know."

Zuko pulled his uncle into a hug, which he was grateful to accept.

"Yo! There you guys are!" Spoke out a familiar voice.

Casey walked into the shop with a wide smile on his voice. "I'd been looking all over for you guys."

"Oh, look who it is; the young man from before." Iroh greeted as he recognized him form the old shop. Casey approached the two.

"I went to that old run down place yesterday and you we're gone. Took me forever to find you guys."

"Yes well, I was given the opportunity to open my own tea-shop. Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon young man." Iroh told him.

"Nice name, and nice place to." Casey looked around, admiring it. "Much nicer than that shack you guys used to work at."

Iroh gave quite a laugh. Casey looked towards Zuko with a smile. "Nice to see ya again kid."

"Yeah, nice to see you again to. You know, I didn't get your name." Zuko said.

"Casey Jones, at your service." He opened his hand, which Zuko took. "Now then, get me some more of that awesome tea of yours!"

"Nephew, please sit down Mr. Jones while I go prepare his tea." Iroh told Zuko.

"With pleasure Uncle." Zuko said as he escorted Casey to his table and Iroh came into the kitchen to make some tea.

* * *

 _Eastern Air Temple_

Aang, Leo, Splinter, and Pahtik continued their work opening Aang's Chakras. The three we're now on a mountainside, overlooking the sunrise.

"Third is the Fire Chakra, located in the Stomach." Pahtik said.

"My Fire Chakra would like to eat something other than onion and banana juice." Aang stated as he held his hungry stomach.

"That makes two of us." Leo agreed; as Splinter and Pahtik both laughed.

"This Chakra deals with Willpower." Pahtik began. "And is blocked by Shame, what are you ashamed of? What are your biggest disappointments in yourself?"

Aang meditated and his mind was flown with yellow visions; this time of his first attempt to Firebend. He played with the fire, which resulted in accidentally burning Katara.

"I'm never gonna Firebend again, I can't." Aang said.

"Aang, we talked about this remember?" Leo recalled. "Fire can be just as dangerous as Water, Earth, and Air; but the element of Fire itself is not an evil, it's the one who wields it."

"Fire is not just meant for destruction, Aang." Splinter added. "It is the element of strength, will, and life. While it can destroy, Fire can also help to create and give life; it is the source of light within the darkness; those that use it simply to destroy are ignorant of Fire's true purpose."

"Indeed." Pahtik also added, agreeing with both Leo and Splinter. "You'll never find balance if you deny this part of your life. You are the Avatar, and therefore you are a Firebender."

Aang let all these words sink in as he reminded himself of who he is; he remembered Leo and Splinter's words on the true use of Fire. He let all his shame flow away. He has opened the Fire Chakra.

"That Chakra opened less like a flowing creek, and more like a… burping bison." Pahtik tried to describe.

Aang gave a loud burp.

"Nice." Leo observed. "Real subtle."

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se._

Mai and Ty-Lee both wore there Kyoshi Warrior disguises as they sat outside the Earth King's palace. Seemingly unknown to them, two Dai-Li agents slid down the pillars behind them and we're listening in on there conversation.

Mai sighed. "I'm tired of wearing this girly disguise. I don't know how anyone can fight in this."

Ty-Lee looked like she was stretching. "Maybe that's how the Elite Ninja beat the Kyoshi Warriors and gave us their clothes." The Dai-Li we're listening intently.

"How much longer do we have to serve the Earth King?" Mai complained. "If I have to clean up one more pile of bear poop, I'm going to throw up."

Ty-Lee continued to stretch. "Princess Azula and Karai both said we can go back to the Fire Nation as soon as we capture the Avatar, we just have to be patient."

Mai shushed her friend. "Shut up! Do you want the whole palace to know we're Fire Nation!?"

"Sorry." Ty-Lee whispered.

The Dai-Li agents slipped away, with no one noticing, or so it seemed as Azula and Karai, both in their Kyoshi Warriors entered the scene.

"Good work girls, I'm sure the Dai-Li heard it all." Azula told them.

"They did." Karai confirmed as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a communications device in the shape of the Foot symbol. She activated it.

" _Progress report."_ Shredder questioned through the phone; Ty-Lee hid behind Mai once she heard that voice, even Azula slightly shuddered.

"Father." Karai began. "The Dai-Li are ready to deliver the message."

" _Excellent. Those fools are playing into our hands."_ Shredder responded. _"As of the Turtles or the Avatar?"_

"No sign of either." Karai reported. "According to the Earth King; they have left the city for now."

" _Once you see them, report to me directly. Do not engage. I wish to finish them, myself."_ Shredder instructed. _"For now, continue to lure the Dai-Li and inform me of their next move."_

"Yes father." Karai finished as she put the phone away.

"Hearing the Shredder's voice gives me the shivers." Ty-Lee said, as she was a bit scared. "No offense Karai, but you Dad is down-right-terrifying!"

"I don't get it though." Mai spoke up. "Why does Shredder want the to use the Dai-Li if he already has the Foot at his disposal? You said they weren't necessary."

"These are my father's orders." Karai replied. "He has something planned for the Dai-Li, we just have to wait."

Azula noticed something in Karai's eyes. "You seemed troubled by this Karai, what is it?"

"It's the Avatar." Karai replied.

"You scared of him?" Ty-Lee guessed. "But he's just a kid."

"That is my point precisely." Karai said. "He is a child, a twelve-year-old boy."

"Your point being?" Azula questioned.

"Children do not belong in war. Why must this child be hunted down? For that matter, why must all this war and bloodshed that has spanned a whole century continue?" Karai questioned. "These horrors should be put to an end, not prolonged!"

"The war will end, soon. With the Fire Nation as the victor." Azula replied.

"There is no honor in any of this." Karai said.

"Honor?" Azula questioned. "This is war, Karai. There's no honor. There's only victory. There are the winners and there are the losers, plain and simple."

"And who decides whom the superior ones are? You?" Karai questioned.

"Only the strong decide; which, yes, include the likes of me and my father." Azula responded.

"Fire Lord Ozai?" Karai questioned. "He sends his children to do battle, while he remains in the safety of his own palace. Say what you will of _my_ father, but he is not afraid to enter battle. Ozai is a coward."

"Watch it." Azula warned. "I do not like your tone Karai." She said with a sharp glare.

"Nor do I like yours." Karai returned with her own glare. "You lack respect, maybe it's time you learn it."

"Is that some sort of threat?"

"Perhaps it is."

Azula and Karai both glared at each other, with there faces less than an inch apart from each other. Azula held her left hand behind her back with a blue flame at her fingers; where as Karai grabbed a short blade sheathed at the back of her belt. This stare-down could be the equivalent of two alpha-predators challenging each other for dominance. Neither femme fatale was giving an inch.

Mai and Ty-Lee both watched this stare down with shock and surprise.

"Karai actually talked back to Azula?!" Ty-Lee whispered to Mai.

"I know." Mai whispered back. "I'm actually kind of enjoying it." Mai said with a slight smile.

Azula and Karai both looked like they we're about to hack each other to pieces, until Ty-Lee broke it up.

"Hey come on, we're all friends here right? We shouldn't be fighting each other."

Karai was the first to take a deep breath. "You are quite correct, Ty-Lee. We are allies." Azula lowered her stance as well. "However Azula let me make something clear." Karai began. "I am not loyal to the Fire Nation, I am loyal to my father. We will assist you in taking this city; however, the Avatar, despite being an enemy, is also a child. If you take any fatal act against him, you will answer to me."

Karai walked away, making her point as Azula glared in the direction the Kunoichi went.

* * *

 _Eastern Air Temple_

Aang, Leo, Splinter, and Pahtik we're at the steps of a small monastery within the temple and continued there meditative positions.

"The fourth Chakra is the Air Chakra." Pahtik explained. "It is located in the heart; it deals with Love and is blocked by Grief." Aang looked towards a statue of an Air Nomad, this made him remember his people and his friends from his life before he knew he was the Avatar. "Lay all your grief out in front of you"

Aang meditated as he let green visions enter his mind. He saw images of Monk Gyatso and the other Air Nomads all in front of him. Aang smiled, but that smile vanished when all the Air Nomads began to vanish, remembering that they are all now gone. As he saw this; Leo, Pahtik, and Splinter spoke to him.

"You miss all your family, don't you Aang?" Leo's voice asked him.

"I can understand your pain Avatar Aang." Splinter's voice told him. "Not a day goes by where I don't think of my beloved Master Yoshi. However, when I miss my loved ones of the past, I look around on the friends I am surrounded by in the present. My Master may be gone, but my Sons are around me now."

"You have indeed felt a great lose." Pahtik's voice told Aang as he was still in the green vision. "But love is a form of energy, and it swirls all around us." The smoke around Aang in his green vision began to take shape and form. "The Air Nomads' love for you has not left this world, it is still inside of your heart, and is reborn in the form of new love."

The smoke took the form of Katara, as Aang remembered the day she pulled him out of the iceberg.

"Your not alone in this Aang." Leo's voice told him. "As long as we have anything to say about it, you never will be."

"Let the pain flow away." Pahtik told him.

"Let your spirit heal." Splinter told him as well.

Aang had tears of joy coming from his eyes as he had now opened the Air Chakra.

"Can I have some onion and banana juice, please?" Aang asked. Leo gave a joking laugh as he patted Aang's back.

* * *

The group was now deeper inside the temple and sat in front of a large Air-Nomad statue.

"The fifth in the chain is the Sound Chakra, located in the throat." Pahtik explained. "It deals with Truth, and is blocked by Lies, the ones we tell ourselves."

Aang now experienced blue visions; he remembered when he told Katara that he wasn't the Avatar when he first met. He never wanted to be the Avatar in the first place.

"Cause I never wanted to be." Aang said as if he we're answering a question.

"I am sure it is difficult for you to bear such responsibility, and at such a young age as well." Splinter began. "However, you must learn to bear this burden, accept it as who you are, only then will you be ready to accept your destiny."

"If you lie to yourself Aang, if you can't be honest with yourself, who _can_ you be honest with?" Leo questioned.

"You cannot like about your own nature." Pahtik added. "You must accept that you are the Avatar."

Aang inhaled deeply as he let truth enter his body. He experienced more blue visions; this one of him overlooking the world. With a deep exhale; he has opened the Sound Chakra.

"Very good Aang." Pahtik congratulated.

"That's five down already." Leo told Aang. "At this rate, you'll be ready to face the Fire Lord in no time."

* * *

The group had now moved further up the temple and on another mountainside, this one now having a view of the sun that looked close to sunset.

"The sixth pool of energy is the Light Chakra, located in the center of the forehead." Pahtik explained.

"So what's this Chakra about?" Leo asked the Guru.

"This one I believe deals with insight of one's self." Splinter guessed.

"Yes, quite correct." Pahtik replied. "The Light Chakra deals with Insight and is blocked by Illusion. The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation."

"Can you explain that a little more?" Leo asked.

"Things that you think are different, are actually one and the same." Splinter translated for his son.

Aang began his mediation. He saw an indigo vision of the map of the world. "Like the Four Nations."

"Yes." Pahtik answered. "We are all one people, but we live as if divided."

"We're all connected. Everything is connected." Aang realized.

"Just like our world is connected to yours and many others by the Nexus. This connection explores even the entire multiverse." Leo realized as well.

"That is quite correct my son." Splinter said. He began to explain this to Aang and Leo. "All things are connected; all people, all objects, past, present, and future, across both space and time, are all connected in some way. I feel that you and your brothers are also connected to the Avatar in some way; I doubt it was a coincidence that you found each other."

Aang and Leo both looked to each other with surprised looks on their faces.

"Even the separation of the four elements is an illusion." Pahtik explained as well. "If you open your mind, you will see that all the elements are one. All parts of the same whole. Even metal is just a form of Earth that has been purified and refined."

* * *

Meanwhile; while Toph remained trapped in the box being transported by Yu and Xin-Fu; she began to punch and feel around the metal. With the use of her seismic sense, she could punch and feel the impurities within the metal, the forms of earth that still remained inside. Once she found what she needed, she smirked. She inhaled deeply and got in a stance.

"Come on metal… budge!" Toph grunted. With one punch, she actually bent the metal.

"Woo! Toph, you rule!" She said to herself as she had now just invented Metalbending.

Outside; Xin-Fu and Yu continued to ride until a shadow-loomed over them.

"What the…!?" Xin-Fu questioned as Raph kicked him hard in the face, knocking both himself and Yu off the carriage and onto the ground.

"That's for knocking me out in Ba-Sing-Se!" Raph told the duo.

"Who or what are you!?" Yu questioned with a frightening expression; where as Xin-Fu scowled and formed an Earthbending stance.

"Get lost freak! This isn't about you!"

Raph then gave a powerful roundhouse kick to Xin-Fu's head knocking him to a tree before Raph pinned him hard to the tree. "And that's for Toph!"

Yu used Earthbending to erect a pillar under Raph, forcing him off Xin-Fu, but Raph jumped and landed on his feet in front of the carriage and faced Xin-Fu and Yu. He took out his sais and twirled them.

"I said get lost!" Xin-Fu exclaimed as he and Yu readied themselves.

"Make me, punks." Raph said with a growl as he charged forward to fight them.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se_

Katara and Momo found themselves just outside the Jasmine Dragon in the Upper Ring, still with the scroll General How gave her.

"What do you say Momo?" Katara asked. "A cup of tea before we get back to the King?" Momo gave a cheerful chirp. Katara walked towards the entrance. She greeted the waitresses. "Table for two please."

"Uncle! I need two Jasmine, one Green, and one Leachy!" Zuko said to his Uncle in the kitchen.

"I'm brewing as fast as I can!" Iroh told him.

Katara recognized those voices and faces. Getting the wrong idea, she ran out as quickly as she could.

Within the tea-shop; Casey Jones had been there all day. He though he had noticed Katara, but simply shrugged and resumed his drinking.

* * *

 _Eastern Air Temple_

The sun had now set; Aang, Leo, Splinter, and Pahtik now found themselves at the highest point of the temple; with a clear view of the stary sky above them.

"This is it Aang, last Chakra." Leo told him. "With this, you can control the Avatar State."

"Do not be so overconfident my son, while I do admire your faith in your new friend, I have a feeling this Chakra will be the most difficult of them all." Splinter advised.

"That is quite correct." Pahtik confirmed.

"So what's this Chakra?" Aang asked.

"Once you open this Chakra, you will be able to go in and out of the Avatar State at will. And while you are in the Avatar State, you will have complete control and awareness of all your actions." Pahtik explained.

Aang looked towards Leo, who nodded with a grin. "Lets do this." Aang said with a grin.

Splinter could only look and smile as he saw the brotherly bond between Leonardo and Avatar Aang.

"The Thought Charka is located in the crown of the head. It deals with Pure Cosmic Energy, and is blocked by Earthly Attachment. Meditate on what attaches you to this world." Pahtik told him. Aang meditated and began to see several purple visions of Katara. "Now let all of those attachments go. Let them flow down the river, forgotten."

That snapped Aang out of his meditation and caught the attention of Leo as well.

"WHAT?!" Aang and Leo both exclaimed at the same time; while Splinter looked surprised as well.

"Why would I let go of Katara?!" Aang questioned. "I…I love her!"

"Shouldn't Aang have the option to choose love!?" Leo questioned as well. "I thought this was supposed to help him!"

Splinter looked towards Aang with sympathy at the position he was in.

"You need to let her go, or you cannot let the pure Cosmic Energy flow in from the universe." Pahtik said.

"Why would I choose Cosmic Energy over Katara?!" Aang continued to question. "How can it be a bad thing that I feel an attachment to her."

"Besides, a few Chakras ago, didn't you say love was a good thing?!" Leo questioned to. "If I had to choose between power or my brothers, I would choose them any day of the week!"

"But you are not the Avatar, Leonardo. Aang is." Pahtik pointed out.

"I feel the same way to!" Aang replied.

"You must learn to let go!" Pahtik insisted.

"Master Splinter?" Leo questioned his father, who looked to the side unable to come up with an answer.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se; Earth King's Palace_

Katara ran through the palace as fast as she could. She made it to the throne room, where the four supposed Kyoshi Warriors were.

"Thank goodness you're here Suki!" Katara began. "Something terrible is going on! The Fire Nation has infiltrated the city! I just saw Prince Zuko and his Uncle!"

Azula and Karai both looked somewhat surprised at this.

"We have to tell the Earth King right away!" Katara stated.

"I am sorry." Karai began. "But I'm afraid we cannot allow that." She stood up with the other false Kyoshi Warriors.

Katara saw the amber in Azula's eyes and realized her mistake. Momo screeched and flew away. Before Katara could react; five Foot Ninja dropped down from the ceiling and quickly surrounded her.

With quick speed, one ninja sliced away her water-satchel so she couldn't water bend. Two of the others threw out chaisn, which quickly wrapped around and bound Katara; wrapping around her arms and body, and tying her ankles together, causing her to fall on the floor. She was about to scream, but the last ninja quickly wrapped a cloth around her mouth, silencing her.

"MMMMMPPPHH!" Katara tried as the Foot Ninja tightened up her bindings, securing her.

"What shall we do with her?" One ninja asked Karai as they held her down.

"Who is this?" Karai asked Azula.

"She's a Waterbender who's been in the company of the Avatar, and a friend to the Turtles as well." Azula explained.

"Mmmpph! Mmmph!" The bound and gagged Katara continued to moan, until one Foot brought his sword close to her throat.

"Shall we kill her?" The ninja asked; causing Katara to look in terror.

"No!" Karai quickly exclaimed. She then straightened herself up. "She is a friend and ally to the Turtles and the Avatar… perhaps, keeping her as a hostage could be more prevalent. A bargaining chip should they discover us."

"So what shall we do then, Karai?" Another Foot Ninja asked her.

"Put her somewhere safe and secure, see to it she's unharmed as well."

"As you wish." The Foot Ninja all bowed. One of them threw the tied and gagged Katara over his shoulder. She squirmed in the hold as they carried her out.

"MMMMPPHH! MMPPPHH!" Her cries would go unanswered as she was now a prisoner of the Foot.

"So, Zuzu's in the city to." Azula assumed.

"Your older brother?" Karai guessed.

"Yes." Azula replied. "I think it's time for a family reunion."

* * *

 _Eastern Air Temple_

Aang was still unsure about unlocking the Thought Chakra as he now knows what he has to do.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let go of Katara." Aang sated.

"Looks you have your answer." Leo told Pahtik as he supported Aang all the way.

"Aang, to master the Avatar State, you must open all the Chakras, surrender yourself." Pahtik stated.

"Master Splinter?" Leo asked.

Splinter gave a deep sigh. "I am sorry. But, sometimes… you must make sacrifices."

Leo looked a bit sorrowful as he looked towards Aang. "Okay." The Avatar said. "I'll try."

Leo looked with concern. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Aang then began to meditate. His vision became purple again as he stood on a earthly path with the stars moving all around him rapidly. _"Now think of your attachments, and let them go."_ Katara appeared only to vanish in the distance. _"Let the pure Cosmic Energy flow."_

Aang's vision ascended into the sky, far above the Earth and into Space itself. He stood on a wavy, curvy, and transparent path that led directly to a massive transparent version of himself with glowing white arrow tattoos and eyes. Aang began to slowly walk down the path and towards the transparent Avatar. As he did, his own tattoos began to glow, and within the giant Avatar's hands was a swirling purple energy sphere. Aang had entered the sphere and let the energy all flow around him.

He was soon snapped out of his trance by Katara's screams. He saw a brief vision of Katara tied and gagged as before in an unknown location.

" _Llmmmphh mmmmphh ghmmpph!"_ Katara screamed through the gag. The vision then shifted to a clawed gauntlet that sliced through the vision itself.

Aang quickly jumped out of the sphere and ran back down towards the path, this caused the spiritual figure of himself to vanish, along with the path behind him. His own tattoos began to stop glowing. Once the path vanished underneath him, he fall back down towards the Earth.

Aang snapped out of his meditation. "Katara's in danger!"

That caught both Leo and Splinter's attention. "What?!" Leo questioned as they all stood up.

"We have to go!" Aang said, as he was about to leave with Leo, and Splinter.

"No Aang!" They stopped just shy of the roof's tiles as Pahtik caught there attention. "By choosing attachment, you have locked the Chakra. If you leave now, you wont be able to go into the Avatar State at all!"

Aang waited a few seconds before jumping down. Leo and Splinter looked to each other before jumping after him.

Aang fled away on Appa, with Leo and Splinter beside him.

"What did you see Aang?" Splinter questioned.

"Did you see the others to? Are they all in danger?" Leo also asked.

"I only saw Katara… and something else." Aang said.

"What?" Leo asked.

"I… I don't know but… some kind of gauntlet. A gauntlet with steel claws, cutting through my vision."

Leo and Splinter looked towards each other with surprise.

"What does that mean?" Aang asked.

"We have to get to Ba-Sing-Se! NOW!" Leo exclaimed.

* * *

Back on the road; Raph continued his fight with Xin-Fu and Yu. They both shot out multiple rocks towards him; which he was able to avoid with quick agility and speed. Raph jumped towards Yu and landed behind him; he pulled his legs back and gave a fierce kick that sent him flying back towards the carriage.

Raph then faced Xin-Fu, the two eyed each other for a couple of seconds. Xin-Fu cracked his neck and Raph just gestured him to bring it on. Xin-Fu then kicked and sent multiple rocks towards Raph, which he cut through with his sais. Raph then came closer and closer to Xin-Fu. Raph lunged his right sai towards him, while Xin-Fu blocked it with a rock in his hand; Raph still had the advantage with a punch from his left hand; knocking Xin-Fu over to Yu.

The fight would have continued if the three hadn't heard a crash sound from the metal box. Xin-Fu, and Yu, both being close to it, looked inside to see a giant hole torn through the empty box.

"It's another one of her tricks!" Yu stated.

"There's a giant hole in the box! How is that a trick?!" Xin-Fu questioned to Yu.

"Hey, dumb-asses!" Raph called to them, once they turned to him, he pointed in the opposite direction with a smug grin.

"It's not a trick." Toph stated, as she was now outside. "It's the real deal!" Toph then smooshed them together between two rock walls, and sent them both into the metal box. Toph quickly launched herself to the box and closed the box with Metalbending, trapping the two inside, much to Raph's surprise. She was now on top of the box.

"I am the greatest Earthbender in the world! Don't you two dunderheads ever forget it!" Toph told them as she stomped onto the container and jumped down to Raph.

"Did you just…" Raph questioned.

"You know it." Toph stated with a grin. "I just invented Metalbending."

"It's official." Raph stated with a proud smile. "You are the coolest twelve-year-old in the universe!"

"Got that right, buddy!" Toph punched Raph in the shoulder as he smiled. "And hey, Raph?"

"Yeah kid?"

"Thanks for coming after me. It… it really means a lot." Toph said as she looked down a bit. Raph smiled as he rustled her hair with his hand.

"No problem, Toph. That's what friends do." Toph smiled at Raph's statement. "Now what do you say we ditch these two losers and high-tail it back to Ba-Sing-Se?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Toph then erected an Earth-platform below them and sent it sailing across the ground back to the city at high-speeds; leaving Xin-Fu and Yu cramped in the metal box.

"I'm going to be stuck in here forever with you, aren't I?" Xin-Fu figured.

"I have to go to the bathroom." Yu said; resulting in Xin-Fu slamming his head against the metal wall.

* * *

 _Chameleon Bay_

Sokka readied his weapons; as did Mikey and Don beside him. Hakoda walked towards the group.

"You guys ready to go knock some Fire Nation heads?" He asked.

"You know it!" Mikey replied as he and Hakoda high-fived.

"You all set Sokka?" Don asked.

"Yeah." He turned to his father. "You don't know how much this means to me Dad. I'll make you proud. And I'll finally prove to you what a great warrior I am."

Hakoda put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Sokka. You don't have to prove anything to me. I am proud of you, and I've always known you we're a great warrior."

"Really?"

"Why do you think I trusted you to look after our tribe when I left?" Hakoda told him.

"You're a great warrior already Sokka." Don told him. "Sure you can't bend, but you got it where it counts."

"There isn't any other guy I'd rather fight beside, either." Mikey added as he patted Sokka's shoulder.

Sokka smiled at his friends' and father's encouragement. "You've got some great friends their Sokka." His father told him.

They we're about to board one of the boats, until Appa's shadow past over the group, getting there attention. Appa landed in front of them; Leo, Aang, and Splinter gave looks towards Sokka, Don, and Mikey; they knew that something was very wrong.

"This can't be good news." Sokka said.

"It never is." Don added.

Appa flew back to Ba-Sing-Se with Aang, Leo, Don, Sokka, Mikey, and Splinter as fast as the Sky-Bison could fly.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se dungeon_

Azula was being 'escorted' to a cell on the other side of the dungeon by two Dai-Li agents who kept her arms pinned behind her. The cell door was open, to reveal Long Feng inside. They stepped in.

"What is this about?!" Azula demanded. "Your agents show up in the middle of the night and drag me down here!? You will not treat a Kyoshi Warrior this way!"

Long Feng bore a sinister smile. "But you're not a Kyoshi Warrior, are you? Princess Azula of the Fire Nation."

"What do you want?"

"I want to make a deal." Long Feng offered. "It's time that I regain control of Ba-Sing-Se, and you have something I need."

"Oh?" Azula asked.

"The Earth King's trust." Long Feng said.

"Why should I help you?" Azula questioned.

"Because I can get you the Avatar." Long Feng offered.

"I'm listening."

* * *

 _Jasmine Dragon._

Casey gave a slight yawn as he was about to exit. "See you two later; and congrats on the nice place here!"

Zuko and Iroh waved as well as they we're cleaning up for the night. "Good night young man, I hope to see you again soon!" Iroh called out as Casey left. "Such a nice man."

Iroh and Zuko continued to clean around the shop as it was now closed. An official come in with the scroll for Iroh. "A message from the Royal Palace." He gave it to Iroh and bowed before he left.

Iroh read the message on the scroll. "I… I can't believe it!"

"What is it Uncle?" Zuko asked.

"Great news." Iroh said with a smile. "We have been invited to serve tea to the Earth King!" Iroh excitedly ran inside to prepare, while Zuko gave a smile at his uncle's antics.

* * *

Azula had been 'escorted' back to her residence by the Dai-Li; having now made a deal with Long Feng. They dropped her back at the door before they used Earthbending to conceal themselves back underground.

Azula walked inside to the main room with Karai, Ty-Lee, and Mai waiting by the door; though Ty-Lee looked rather frightened. "And what is going on with you?" Azula asked.

"Why don't you ask my father?" Karai asked as she opened the door. Azula walked in and looked with wide-eye-surprise at a sight that made her own heart skip a beat. Shredder was in there; along with Hun and the four Foot Elite Guard.

"Well…?" Shredder asked Azula.

She quickly regained her posture. "The Dai-Li and I have reached an understanding, and they are completely unaware of the existence of yourself and your forces."

"Excellent." Shredder replied. "Any sign of the Turtles or the Avatar?"

"No father." Karai replied. "However we did capture the Waterbender who travels with the Avatar, she is currently held in a secluded location."

"Good, she will serve as the perfect bait to lure them to me." Shredder said.

"I have one question Shredder." Azula told him. "If we do not need the Dai-Li, why pretend as though I have formed an alliance with them?"

"The Dai-Li are nothing more than serpents. This is only a plan to gather them all together." Shredder began to explain. "Soon, I want every Dai-Li agent, including there leader, to be gathered together at one place; once they are there, see to it that they do not pose a problem. Exterminate them."

Mai, Karai, Ty-Lee, even Azula looked rather surprised at that.

"Exterminate…? You mean…. Kill them!?" Ty-Lee questioned.

"Now that's dark." Mai observed, as she too was quite surprised. "And that says a lot coming from me."

"Father… I… why take such a course of action?" Karai questioned.

"I have to agree, the Dai-Li could be a useful resource to us." Azula noted.

"From what I've heard of them, they attempted to usurp the Earth King and take control of his empire from him." Shredder explained. "They will attempt to do the same to us, I will not tolerate serpents in my organization."

"How dare you all question the master!" Hun said to the girls. "I'm behind this plan one-hundred-percent." He said with a grin.

"But… kill them?" Ty-Lee. "I… that's a bit much, don't you…" Shredder shot her a glare; causing Ty-Lee to shriek and hide behind Karai.

Azula had enough of following orders from this man. She decided to step towards Shredder. "I have tolerated our partnership for quite some time, but I want you to keep in mind Shredder this is not your world; but ours! I will not be ordered around like some kind of…"

 ***Smack!***

Shredder smacked Azula across the face and sent her to the wall, much to Mai, Ty-Lee, and even Karai's shock; as well as Hun's amusement. She tried to get up, but he flashed his clawed-gauntlet close to her neck.

"The only reason I allowed you to live, is because I found your ferocity to be… amusing. I have chosen to aid the Fire Nation, I can so easily back away and let you deal with the Avatar and the Turtles yourself! Keep in mind who your superiors are, little girl, am I clear?" Shredder warned.

As Azula looked into his red eyes; a new feeling swept in her body. Fear.

"Cr… crystal… crystal clear!" Azula stuttered as Shredder backed away.

"Master if I may." Hun spoke up. "The Avatar and the Turtles should be here soon, if we have one of there friends captive."

"Good, let them come, if they are foolish enough to try." Shredder said as he approached a table. "It will give me great pleasure, to squeeze the life out of them, with my own hands!" He sliced the table with his gauntlet, causing it to fall to rubble. Shredder then let loose his signature evil laugh.

 **Done.**

 **I hope this chapter is to your liking. For the next one; expect things to be slightly different than in the cannon TV show. Get ready for an explosive battle as Shredder's plan falls into place. Team Avatar and the Turtles will soon come face-to-face with there greatest enemy yet. Toon in next time on "Worlds Collide".**


	13. The Shredder Strikes

**Hello everybody. I know you're all just dying to see this particular chapter. I've got a few surprises in store. Just letting you know in advanced, there will be some things that will remain the same in this chapter, and there will be some things that will be quite different from the cannon episode. I hope you all enjoy. Let's get started; I own neither TMNT nor Avatar.**

 **The Shredder Strikes**

Appa flew straight towards Ba-Sing-Se, carrying Aang, Leo, Master Splinter, Sokka, Mikey, and Don with him. They flew as fast as the bison could fly.

"Katara's in danger?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah, big danger." Leo confirmed.

"What kind of trouble exactly are we talking about?" Sokka asked as well.

"I don't know." Aang replied. "In my vision, all I knew was that she needed help."

"Anything specific to tell us?" Don questioned. "Something we can actually use? Because at this point, we're flying blind."

"It's all I got." Aang said. "Well, I saw something else to."

"What?" Sokka asked.

"A gauntlet… a clawed gauntlet." Aang replied; causing Mikey and Don's eyes to widen.

"Uh… sensei…?" Mikey whispered. "He's not talking about…?"

"I would certainly hope not, but we must prepare for the worst." Splinter whispered to his three sons on board.

"Hey, look down there!" Leo pointed down.

The group saw something big and fast move along the ground to the Outer Wall of the Earth Kingdom capital, leaving a large trail of dust behind. Aang directed the bison towards the object.

Raph and Toph rode on the boulder that she was moving with Earthbending until the red-clad Turtle spotted the bison.

"Heads up Toph, Bison incoming." Raph informed, causing Toph to slow down as the Sky-Bison flew parallel to the two.

"You guys need a ride?" Don asked.

* * *

 _Underground Chambers_

In a massive tunnel, deep beneath the city; Azula was garbed in her Fire Nation uniform as she stood alongside the still disguised Ty-Lee and Mai, with Karai as well in her Foot uniform. In front of the four young women stood every single Dai-Li agent, which was roughly three-dozen. Long Feng walked up towards the Fire princess.

"Long Feng, are you certain this is every agent of your organization?" Azula asked him.

"Yes princess, every agent here is at your disposal." Long Feng confirmed.

"Excellent. Try not to take this personal though, I admire your organization quite well." Azula told him, much to his confusion.

"I'm sorry… I don't understand."

"I am sorry as well." Karai spoke up to him, as she knew what was coming next. She stepped out of the way of the door, once it opened three individuals stepped out; the hulking behemoth Hun, the robotic body of Dr. Stockman, and finally, the intimidating leader and master of the Footclan.

"Who are you?" Long Feng questioned.

"Your death." Shredder replied as he raised his clawed gauntlet. "Eliminate them all!"

With that, a series of arrows shot down from the dark ceiling and hit all the front-most Dai-Li agents, killing them instantly. The remaining agents together erected an earth-wall to protect them from the onslaught.

"Wha… What is this?!" Long Feng demanded, only for Hun to step in front of him.

"Come on, don't you know when you're being stabbed in the back?" Hun asked with an evil smile as he bashed Long Feng with the back of his arm, knocking him back to the wall.

The arrows stopped firing onto the agents, and falling out of the dark ceiling we're a dozen Foot ninja, each baring a long katana. The Foot charged forward to engage the front-most Dai-Li agents. While they we're able to up a good fight, the Dai-Li we're unprepared for the quickness and speed of these ninjas. A few agents caught there swords in there rock gloves, only to be kicked away hard in the head. The ninjas began to hack and cut away the Dai-Li agents with there blades.

The Dai-Li tried to form a large ring with there remaining members; but while the Foot ninja kept there attention focused around them, they we're completely unaware of the large plum of smoke that popped up from the center of there group. The inner-most agents turned around in time to see the four Foot Elite Guard appear and they too struck.

The Foot Elite we're much faster and stronger than the lower-ranking Foot Ninja, thus the Dai-Li could not counter in time for them to attack. The Dai-Li we're now being slaughtered as they we're sliced, impaled, broken, and even a few we're decapitated. Blood sprayed all over the floor, as shadows loomed all over the chambers of this slaughter.

Shredder watched all of this, unphased; Hun smiled at this carnage while Stockman looked unsurprised. Ty-Lee had covered her mouth with both her hands, eyes quivering in fear. Mai could only look in absolute shock. Azula was slightly fazed at this carnage, yet at the same time, she had now developed an admiration for the Foot's ruthlessness. Karai just looked down, eyes closed, in shame.

Long Feng got up only to see the last of his Dai-Li agents being impaled by one of the Elite Foot's spears. Long Feng could not explain this, but this was a whole new sense of fear and terror that completely him. He turned around to try and run only for Shredder to appear in front of him, before he could react, Shredder brought his claws down to Long Feng.

 ***Slice***

Long Feng held his throat, as he felt two deep gashes. Blood oozed out from between his fingers, as he feel on his knees and his vision became blurry. The last thing he saw was Shredder looking down on him before he fell face-first on the ground, with a puddle of blood growing below him.

"Hmph. Pathetic." Shredder spat.

The Foot Ninja and Elite Guard all bowed to Shredder, there blades soaked in the blood of the now dead Dai-Li agents.

"The Dai-Li is no more, Master Shredder." One Elite Ninja informed.

"Yes I can see that." Shredder replied.

Ty-Lee stuck close to Mai. "Is it just me? Or is Shredder _way_ more scary than Azula?!" Ty-Lee whispered.

"It's not just you. Trust me." Mai replied. "Probably best we stick close to Karai."

"No argument here. At least she's nice." Ty-Lee agreed.

Azula didn't like this either, but not for the same reason. "I still think we could have used them. Seems like a waste."

Hun walked behind the three girls. "The Dai-Li we're just dead weight, and you three better behave unless you want to end up like Stockman."

"Like Stockman?" Ty-Lee questioned as all three eyes looked towards him.

"I… made the mistake of… crossing Shredder before." Stockman revealed. "Only to end up like this." His robotic chest opened up to reveal a liquid-filled container inside, inside the liquid was in fact Baxter Stockman's brain, and a single eye, all attached by wires that kept him installed to the robotic body.

Mai and Ty-Lee both gasped, even Azula looked surprised at this. Karai's look of shame increased.

"YOU'RE JUST A BRAIN!?" Ty-Lee screamed.

"I don't even want to know what happened to the rest of you." Mai stated.

"How did you end up like that?" Azula questioned.

"Why don't you ask him?" Stockman's holographic head directed to Shredder who approached the group. Ty-Lee hid behind Karai as she approached.

"Father." Karai bowed.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you." Shredder spoke to the Fire Nation girls. "Stockman, as well as Long Feng and his Dai-Li are the perfect examples of what happens to those who would dare cross me. Is that clear?"

"Yes master." Hun replied with a smile. "A perfect example."

"Karai, is everything ready for the usurpation of the Earth King?" Shredder asked.

"Yes father." Karai informed. "The Foot are in position and need only wait your command."

"Perfect, now all that remains for us are the Turtles and the Avatar." Shredder stated.

"And my brother and uncle." Azula added.

* * *

 _Upper Palace Wall_

Iroh and Zuko we're both dropped by a carriage off near the main gate for the uppermost wall. They both walked towards it, with Iroh carrying a teapot in his hands.

"Many times I imagined myself here, at the Threshold of the Palace." Iroh reminisced. "But I always thought I'd be here as a conqueror, instead we are the Earth King's personal guests, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing."

"It sure is Uncle." Zuko agreed.

* * *

Appa just passed over the upper wall. Aang, Sokka, and Toph sat at Appa's head, while Leo, Don, Raph, Mikey, and Master Splinter sat on Appa's back behind the kids.

"So how'd it go with the Guru, did you master the Avatar State?" Toph asked.

Leo and Splinter both grimaced a bit. "Uh…" Aang tried.

" _If you leave now, you won't be able to go into the Avatar State at all!"_

"Aang are you okay?" Sokka asked.

Aang managed to form a smile. "I'm great. It went great with the Guru. I completely mastered the Avatar State." He laughed awkwardly. "Yeah."

The Turtles and there Sensei we're talking amongst themselves. "He didn't master it, did he?" Raph asked his brother.

"No. No he didn't." Leo replied.

"What happened?" Mikey asked.

"Young Aang had a rather particular vision and he had no choice but to come here, that was one of the reasons." Splinter informed.

"One of them?" Don asked. "What are the other reasons?"

"We'll worry about that later." Leo said. "We just need to get to the Earth King ASAP."

"Uh Leo?" Mikey asked. "Should we tell Aang and his friends about… you-know-who?" He whispered.

"I don't know." Leo replied. "I just… don't know yet. If he is here, we need to make sure Aang doesn't go anywhere near him."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Raph agreed.

"However, I can sense a great darkness approaching my sons." Splinter informed. "Be on guard; those who do there best to avoid a road they do not wish to travel my find themselves already on it."

* * *

Zuko and Iroh we're in some form of suite, awaiting the Earth King. Iroh just finished pouring some tea as he and his nephew sat at the table in the middle of the room.

"What's taking so long?" Zuko asked.

"Maybe the Earth King overslept?" Iroh guessed.

Zuko held a bag, which held his Dao-Swords inside. He looked around and noticed how quiet it was; too quiet. "Something's not right."

Once that was said; ten Foot Ninja fell from the ceiling, they drew their katanas as they surrounded the two Firebenders, forcing them to go back-to-back. A column of smoke appeared and near the front of the room appeared the four Elite Foot Guard. Iroh observed the Elite with interest.

"Nice hats." He told the Elite, causing them to glare a bit as they we're quiet sick of hearing that comment.

"It's tea time." Azula said as she stepped near the Elite.

"Azula!" Zuko scowled.

"Have you met the Foot?" Azula asked. "They're an organization of nonbending warriors not aligned with any of the Four Nations, but they have a killer instinct that's so Firebender. I just love it."

Iroh picked up a cup of hot tea. "Did I ever tell you of how I got the nickname, 'The Dragon of the West'?"

Azula nonchalantly looked at her nails. "I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Uncle."

"It's more of a demonstration really." Iroh drank the tea, Zuko smiled, as he knew what was coming next.

Zuko ducked as Iroh unleashed a powerful fire blast from his mouth, forcing all the Foot ninja back. One fire blast from Zuko broke down a wall as he took his Dao-Swords and ran out, with Iroh shooting another fire blast from his mouth into the room before running after his uncle.

Two Foot ninja rolled out into the hall and threw a series of shurikens at the two Firebenders. Zuko and Iroh turned down a corner as the shurikens struck the wall and just missed their intended targets.

A lightning blast from Iroh blew a hole into the wall leading to an opening outside. Iroh jumped out the hole and fell two stories outside before landing hard on a shrubbery.

"Come on!" Iroh called to his nephew. "You'll be fine!"

"No!" Zuko called back. "I'm tried of running! It's time I faced Azula!" Zuko turned back inside.

Iroh face-palmed at Zuko's recklessness before running off.

Zuko faced his younger sister as well as a few Foot ninja.

"You're so dramatic." Azula drolled. "What? Are you going to challenge me to an Agni-Kai?"

"Yes. I challenge you!" Zuko replied.

"No thanks." Azula rejected. "Though I'm sure the Foot Elite will take you up on that offer."

Smoke surrounded Zuko as the Four Elite Foot ninja surrounded him. He drew his Dao-Swords to block their weapon strikes coming at him. He lit his swords on fire as Zuko tried to swing and strike at them, sending blasts of flame at the Elite Guard; but they circled him and kept striking with there weapons. Zuko blocked an axe-strike from one Elite but was slashed in the back by the one with the trident, forcing him onto the ground. There the Elite stopped there assault as they just looked down at him as he regained his breath. They stood and did nothing, as if they we're waiting for him to get back up and strike.

Zuko regained his breath, and with a yell, got back up with his flaming swords and spun around to create a form of flaming vortex to protect himself, but the Elite just braced themselves as mostly there capes we're slightly burnt. They went on the offensive this time, running and circling him, striking him with there weapons as he was now stuck blocking them and couldn't get a single opening to attack. One Elite drove a foot into his chest to knock the wind right out of him and sent him to the wall where another Elite slammed his elbow in Zuko's face, slamming the back of hi head into the wall, knocking him out.

The four Elite took the moment to observe him. "This one is strong."

"Strong? Him?" Azula questioned. "Don't be ridiculous, he's weak."

"You underestimate him." Another Elite replied. "Swordsman ship and Firebending, there is power within him. It's a shame he's fighting against us, he could be a great asset to our master."

The Foot ninja gathered around him and picked up the unconscious Zuko and proceeded to leave with him, while Azula found herself contemplating on what the Elite just said.

* * *

 _Earth King's Palace_

The whole group found themselves before the Earth King. "Katara's fine. You have nothing to worry about." He told them.

"Are you sure?" Don asked.

"Tell me we weren't worried over nothing." Raph said. "I was hopping to pound some heads in."

"But in my vision, I felt so sure she was in trouble." Aang said.

"Your majesty, when did you last see Katara?" Leo asked.

"Well, she met with the Council of Generals to plan the Invasion, and since then, she's been with your friends, the Kyoshi Warriors." The Earth King answered.

"See guys, she's with Suki." Sokka addressed Aang and the Turtles. "There probably back at our apartment talking about makeup or something."

"Okay… maybe you're right." Aang said.

"Your Earthly-kingness…" Mikey began. "Have you seen anything suspicious lately? Something that spells… dark and dangerous. Like maybe a… guy with armor covered in blades?"

"Believe me, if there was any danger at all, Bosco's animal-instincts would sense it." The Earth King said as the bear raised it's head with a slight groan.

"Boy, that's reassuring." Raph sarcastically whispered to Toph who snickered at that comment.

Master Splinter stroke his beard, despite the fact that nothing seemed out of the ordinary, he could tell something was very wrong.

* * *

Katara found herself pacing in a isolated crystal catacomb that served as her prison cell. A metal hatch opened above her, with a Foot soldier looking down towards her. "You have a new cell mate."

Another Foot ninja threw in Zuko, who fell to the ground in front of her before closing the hatch. He looked up to her as she could only glare.

"Zuko!"

Unknown to both of them, there was a tiny Mouser Robot behind a crystal at the far end of the catacomb. This Mouser served as a security camera that gave a live feed directly towards an underground chamber, which served as the Foot's temporary base, as well as the sight of the slaughter of the Dai-Li. A screen, which Stockman set up, gave a view of what was happening inside this cell, with Karai alone watching what would soon unfold.

* * *

Appa landed just outside the house that the Gaang and Turtles once stayed in while Long Feng was in control of the city; which also had a hole in the far side, courtesy of Toph from earlier. The group walked inside.

"Hey guys, where ya been?" Casey greeted as Momo was on his shoulder, which ran to Aang.

"Momo." Aang greeted as he let the lemur climb onto his shoulder.

"Casey, hey man." Raph greeted as the two high-fived.

"You seen Katara anywhere?" Leo asked.

"No, no one's been here all day." Casey replied.

"What?" Don questioned.

"He's right, there's no one else in here." Toph confirmed.

"Katara _is_ in trouble!" Aang stated. "I knew it!"

"Oh no." Sokka said.

"Trouble?" Casey asked. "Guys, what's going on?"

Before anyone could reply, Toph sensed something. "Wait, someone's at the door." They all heard a knock. A smile formed on Toph's face. "Actually, I know who it is." She walked up to it. "It's an old friend of mine." She opened to door to reveal none-other-than Iroh.

"Yo old man!" Casey warmly greeted as well. "How ya been?"

"I need your help." Iroh said; The Turtles and Splinter looked surprised; Aang and Sokka we're shocked beyond belief, while Toph and Casey just smiled and waved at him.

"You guys know each other?!" Aang questioned.

"This is that guy who owns that tea place I told you about, awesome guy." Casey told the group.

"And I met him in the woods once and knocked him down." Toph told them as well. "Then he gave me tea and some good advice."

"May I come in?" Iroh politely asked, to which Casey and Toph both nodded and he walked inside; though some we're surprised as he hadn't freaked out yet at some certain individuals.

"Uh… you do know there are four giant turtles and a giant rat in the same room, right?" Don asked.

"Yeah, this is usually the part where people freak out on us." Raph added.

Iroh gave a slight chuckle. "When you're as old as me, you've seen some very interesting things." He then turned to the group with a serious face. "Princess Azula is here in Ba-Sing-Se."

"Are you kidding me?!" Mikey questioned.

"Somehow, this doesn't surprise me." Leo said with contempt in his voice.

"Uh… Princess Azula?" Casey asked as this was the first time he heard that name.

"The Fire Lord's daughter." Raph told him. "And a total overconfident, punkass kid."

"She's a master and gifted Firebender." Don added. "She's also a certifiable lunatic!"

"Yeah, major whack-job city!" Mikey added as well, waving a finger around the side of his head for emphasis.

"I already don't like her." Casey replied to all these statements.

"She must have Katara." Aang deduced.

"She has captured my nephew as well." Iroh informed.

"What!?" Casey questioned. "She got that kid to?!"

"Then we'll work together to rescue Katara and Zuko." Leo declared.

"Hold on; you lost me at Zuko." Sokka told Leo.

"What's your beef with this kid? He seems like a decent guy to me." Casey said.

Sokka could not believe the words coming out of Casey's mouth. "'Decent guy'?! Are you kidding me!?"

"What?" Casey questioned.

"Casey, Zuko is the prince of the Fire Nation, the Fire Lord's son." Leo told him.

"Yeah, so?" Casey asked.

"So? What do you mean so?" Aang asked.

"He's the bad guy!" Sokka exclaimed.

"No he ain't." Casey contradicted. "I've seen plenty of bad guys in my day, that kid is no bad guy"

"What makes you say that? You haven't even met him?" Raph asked.

"Yeah I did, at that tea-shop. That scar of his tells the story." Casey told the group. "I've been a victim of bullies most of my life, so I another victim when I see one, and that kid is a victim."

"He is indeed." Iroh confirmed. "My nephew has suffered much abuse from both his father and younger sister for a long time."

"Of, well if he's such a victim, then how come he's been chasing us all over the planet?!" Sokka questioned.

"I believe there is more to this tale than at first meets the eye, you cannot judge a man simply by his exterior; to know someone, you must see what lies inward." Splinter said.

"Indeed." Iroh agreed. "I understand how you must feel about my nephew, but believe me when I tell you there is good inside him."

"I don't know about this…" Don thought.

"I think it would be wrong of us to at least give him a chance." Leo said, much to the surprise of most of the group. "I was taught that honor comes from giving second chances to even an old enemy. If Iroh here says there is good in him, then let's give him a shot."

"I thank you, young Turtle." Iroh bowed. "He has been quite obsessed for most of his life."

"Those who become obsessed are often there own worst enemy." Splinter added.

"Wait a minute." Raph said. "How exactly is Azula planning to take over this entire city, there's no way she can do it alone."

"You are quite correct." Iroh replied. "Azula has allied herself with a group of warriors known as The Foot."

"The Foot!?" Leo, Don, Mikey, Raph, and even Casey all exclaimed while Splinter glared.

"You know these guys?" Aang asked.

"The Foot?" Toph questioned. "What kind of a name is that? Do they have some kind of special feet power?"

"Wait a second." Sokka recalled. "Back at the drill, didn't you say those engineers we're trained by these Foot-guys?"

"Yeah, that's what…" Mikey began until Raph interrupted him.

"Hold on a second old man. The Foot we're chasing you and you came here?!" Raph exclaimed to Iroh.

"No need to worry, I lost them." Iroh assured; but the Turltes all face-palmed at that. "What?"

"You don't loose the Foot." Leo told Iroh. "There ninjas, trackers, like us!"

"They are masters of stealth and adaptation, you never know when they strike." Splinter added.

Mikey looked out the door a bit, while Iroh replied. "I assure you that I lost…"

"Guys…" Mikey began as he looked out the crack of the door. "We got company." Mikey could see on the roofs of the building across from them we're several Foot ninja approaching.

Toph soon felt the same thing all around. "We're surrounded!"

"You didn't loose the Foot! They followed you here! Raph yelled at Iroh who laughed awkwardly.

"Heh, heh… oops." The Turtles all drew there weapons with Splinter, Casey and Sokka, while the benders of the group took combat stances.

"Okay, Leo what's the plan?" Don asked. "Cause we could use one right now."

"Hey! I'm the plan guy!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Not now Sokka!" Aang told him.

"No time for a plan anyway." Leo said.

"Why not?" Aang asked.

As soon as that was said; several Foot Ninja all crashed in through the windows and quickly surrounded the group.

"We can't fight them in here, too cramped!" Don stated.

"Agreed." Splinter replied. "Everyone outside now!"

Aang sent a massive gust of air that blew away a couple Foot out the door, letting the group of heroes run outside where the Foot attacked.

Leo, with the use of Jet's hook swords, blocked the strikes from multiple enemy katanas. He was able to use the hooks to ensnare the blades of the Foot in front of him, he then fell down and took those ninja down with him before using his feet to vault them over to more incoming ninjas. He then went on the offensive and attacked with the hook-swords at three incoming Ninja.

Aang sent a gust of wind with the thrust of his palm into the abs of a Foot soldier, sending him flying into several more, knocking them down like bowling pins. One ninja tried to thrust at him with a spear, only for Aang to catch it and use Earthbending to make a pillar to send the Ninja high into the air. Aang twirled and broke the spear off the staff and used it like his glider to create a wind vortex by spinning and sending an air-blade down the street into five ninja, forcing them to scatter.

Raph blocked a katana strike with one of his sai, before snapping the blade with the curved handle. He then kicked the ninja aside and jumped to avoid another strike and kick the attacking ninja in the head. Four more Foot approached him as he went on the offensive and slashed one in the chest with his sai and elbowing him in the back. Raph ducked underneath a horizontal slice from another ninja before slicing him in the back and using a roundhouse to knock him back into the remaining two ninja.

Toph shot both her fists outward to the left and right, creating large earth-pillars in those directions that shot towards two incoming Foot ninja from each side. Both ninja jumped onto the pillars and ran towards her, only for her to punch the ground, creating a shockwave to knock them, as well as four other incoming Foot ninja far back into the buildings all around.

Mikey twirled his nunchucks as he charged forward. He bashed one ninja in the head, another up the jaw, and got two in one mighty swing. One ninja came in with a staff and tried to swing it at Mikey, only for him to catch the staff in the chain and snap it away, allowing Mikey to kick the ninja square in the chest. He then spun on his hand and knocked back three incoming ninja.

Sokka found himself blocking with his machete and docking the relentless assault from one Foot ninja. He tried to strike back, but the ninja was too quick. He kicked Sokka and sent him rolling to a wall, with the ninja slowly incoming, Sokka threw his boomerang out, and the ninja moved his head and gave a look that said 'really' to Sokka. "Wait for it." The Water Tribesman told him, the ninja gave a confused look before he was hit in the back of the head by the boomerang. He held the back of his head, letting Sokka get in with a high-pitched yell, smacking the ninja in the head with the back of his machete, knocking him out.

Don slammed one end of his staff into the gut of a ninja incoming from behind and jumped behind two incoming ninja as the came down with swords. As soon as he landed he gave a long sweep with his staff, knocking down both ninjas. He blocked another katana strike with the middle of his staff before performing a leg-sweep to knock the ninja off his feet.

Casey held a golf club and cricket bat in his hands and charged forward to three ninja. "GOONGALA!" He bashed one in the head with the golf club, blocked a katana strike with his cricket bat and ducking avoid another sword from the other ninja. Once he was down, he rolled underneath the ninjas and kicked one hard in the shin and slammed the cricket bat in the face of the last ninja.

Splinter and Iroh found themselves back-to-back from several Ninja. Iroh thrusted multiple fire-fits forward, blasting a few ninja back; while some jumped at Splinter but he quickly swung his staff so fast that the ninja we're all sent flying before they knew what hit them. Unknowingly to most of the group as they we're fighting, they didn't seem to notice six Foot archers from all sides on the buildings around them, aiming there arrows at the two elder fighters. Once the arrows we're let loose, both Iroh and Splinter exchanged knowing glances. Iroh let Splinter onto his back as the two locked arms and spun around, Splinter caught all six arrows in his tail. They switched positions, letting Iroh pump his feet in the directions the arrow came from, sending fireballs in those directions blowing all the ninja back.

It wasn't long before all the attacking Foot ninja laid groaning as they we're either semi-conscious or unconscious; surrounding the victorious heroes.

"Man, those guys we're tough." Aang stated, as he had to catch his breath.

"That all of them?" Raph asked.

"That's all that's around here, I can't sense any one else." Toph relayed.

"Now way that's all the Foot forces in the city though." Leo stated.

"Yeah, there's gotta be more somewhere." Don agreed.

"Perhaps one of these fellows can help us." Iroh offered, gesturing to a barley conscious Foot ninja.

Leo picked up the Foot Ninja, and Toph followed by creating an earth-cone around him to keep him restraint. Leo pointed his blade at the ninja's throat after removing his mask.

"Start talking."

The Ninja gave a slight chuckle. "You think you've won; you've already lost and you don't even know it yet. This city is ours. Ba-Sing-Se is now the property of the Foot!"

"My sister! Where are they keeping Katara?!" Sokka demanded.

"And Zuko, where's he at?" Casey also questioned.

"Go ahead and rescue them if you want." The Ninja told them. "There underground, some kind of ancient city. Not that it won't matter."

"Who else is here!?" Raph questioned. "Who's working with Azula!?"

"You Turtles should know by now." The foot felt around his mouth with his tongue until he pulled out a false tooth and bit into it. "Long… Live… The Foot!" Those we're his last words as foam formed in his mouth and he died.

"Is he…?" Aang questioned.

"He is dead." Splinter confirmed.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling a heart beat anymore."

"How? How could he kill himself?" Sokka asked.

"Cyanide pill." Don said. "It's a form of poison that some soldiers use to keep the enemy from interrogating them."

"Taking there secret to there grave." Iroh said.

"We got what we need anyway, let's move." Leo ordered as the group ran out. What they didn't know, is that they we're being watched by a Mouser drone, which surveyed the whole thing.

* * *

 _Underground cavern._

Shredder was approached by Hun and Stockman; who both bowed before them.

"Is it as I expected?" Shredder asked.

"Yes Master." Hun replied. "They're on there way."

"Good." Shredder turned to Stockman. "It is time, signal the Foot to begin; capture the generals and the king. Now!"

"Yes, of course Master Shredder." Stockman then opened up a comn link. "Stockman to all units, it's time. Begin Operation: Usurpation"

Meanwhile, in a separate part of the cavern, Karai continued to watch the surveillance feed of Katara and Zuko's prison.

" _Why did they throw you in here?"_ Katara questioned to Zuko, who didn't even face her. _"Oh wait, let me guess, it's a trap. So that when Aang shows up to help me you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches."_

Karai could tell from her tone of voice that this girl had a great deal of hatred for the Fire Nation.

" _You're a terrible person, you know that?!"_ Katara scolded. _"Always following us, hunting the Avatar, trying to capture the world's last hope for peace!"_

"'Last hope for peace'?" Karai questioned as she continued to watch.

" _But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war, and violence, and hatred is in your blood."_

" _You don't know what you're talking about."_ Zuko told her.

" _I don't?!"_ Katara questioned. _"How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally!"_ She turned around and hugged her knees. _"The Fire Nation took my mother away from me."_ She broke down in tears as she held her necklace.

"What?" Karai breathed, quite surprised at that.

Zuko turned around with a look of sympathy. _"I'm sorry. That's something we have in common."_

Karai looked sympathetic herself towards this, but a large hand on her shoulder interrupted her thoughts.

"You better not be thinking of going soft on us." Hun told her.

"My thoughts are none of your concern, Huh." Karai told him as she got up with a glare. "What is it you want?"

"Its time."

* * *

Toph felt along the ground. "Well what do you know, there is an ancient city down there. But it's deep." Toph then created a large crater to start the digging.

"We'll need to split up from here." Leo said. "Aang, Splinter, Iroh and I will go to rescue Katara and Zuko; Raph, Casey, Toph, Sokka, Don, and Mikey; you guys try to warn the Earth King about the Foot."

"Got it." Don replied.

"But…" Leo began. "If things go south; we'll need you all to go down to and meet up with the rest of us."

"Why's that?" Sokka asked.

"Trust me, if we're dealing with who I think it is, we got a better chance if we all do it together." Leo instructed. "Now lets move."

* * *

Aang, Leo, Iroh, and Splinter continued down the tunnel, with Aang using Earthbending to tunnel deeper with Iroh using Firebending to light the way. There was a bit of an awkward silence.

"So… Toph thinks you give pretty good advice, and great tea." Aang told Iroh.

"The key to both is proper aging." Iroh joked, while Splinter laughed a bit at that, and Leo smiled. "What's on your mind?"

Leo could only guess what Aang was thinking and he was right.

"Well, I met with this Guru who was supposed to help me master the Avatar State, and control this great power. But to do it, I had to let go of someone I love, and I just couldn't."

"Perfection and Power are overrated." Iroh said. "I think you are very wise to choose happiness and love."

"That's right Aang." Leo added. "I've met my fair share of power-hungry psychopaths. Power can help, but it can also corrupt and make them even more crazy."

"There are those who try to tell us what path to take Avatar, but sometimes you must ignore what others tell you and trust what lies inside your heart." Splinter said as well.

"But what happens if we can't save everyone and beat these Foot-guys?" Aang questioned. "Without the Avatar State, what if I'm not powerful enough?"

"I don't think we can just answer that question." Leo said.

"Yes, life throws in your way some obstacles that no one can tell you how to overcome, you must learn to do that on your own." Splinter stated.

"Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel." Iroh began. "You can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving…" Aang gave another Earthbending shove, showing the catacombs of Old Ba-Sing-Se to the group. "…You will come to a better place."

"Now lets find our friends, and get out of here before anyone knows we're down here." Leo said.

* * *

 _Earth King's Palace_

Raph, Toph, Casey, Sokka, Don, and Mikey, along with Momo, came to the top of the steps just at the entrance of the palace; they already spotted one of the generals.

"There's General How." Sokka pointed out.

"Wait." Raph stopped them. "Hide!" Raph pulled Toph behind a pillar while the rest hid along other pillars near them.

Right when General How walked outside; three Foot Ninjas dropped down. One landed on his right and threw a chain out to ensnare How's right arm, while the second ninja did the same for his left arm.

"What is this?! Who are you!?"

The third ninja brought his katana close to General How's throat. "It'll be easier if you don't resist, and less dangerous"

The Turtles and people hidden observed all of this.

"The Coup is happening right now." Don stated.

"We gotta warn the Earth King." Sokka told them.

"No." Raph pointed out. "We follow Leo's plan. We're all heading underground."

"What about the Earth King?" Mikey asked.

"I'll warn him, you guys meet up with the others." Casey told them.

"But what's so dangerous that we all need to be together to fight?" Sokka questioned.

"No time to explain, lets just move!" Raph exclaimed. "Toph take us underground, now!"

Toph erected a small hole that led underground; she was the first to jump down, followed by Raph, Mikey, Sokka, and Don. Casey put down his Hockey mask and ran inside to warn the Earth King.

Meanwhile at separate locations; each of the generals we're being ambushed by Foot Ninja.

One general walked over a drain, in which multiple ropes and chains we're tossed up and he found himself tangled in them. Two Foot landed on top of him and pointed their blades near his face.

Another general was walking down an alleyway when five Foot Ninja fell down around him, surrounding him and pointing bladed spears near his throat.

In the war room, the last two generals we're overlooking the map, ignorant to the several Foot Ninja up on the ceiling; they threw down multiple shurikens around them, forcing them back-to-back as the Foot all surrounded both generals reading there blades.

* * *

 _Earth King's throne room._

"You're majesty!" Casey came in towards the seated king. "We got a problem!"

"What kind of problem?"

The disguised Ty-Lee flipped towards Casey and came close to his face. "Yeah, what kind of problem? Big guy?"

"Well for starters, you ain't Kyoshi Warriors." Casey stated as he shoved Ty-Lee back, that statement earned a gasp from the Earth King.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Mai said as she flung many knives towards him, which he blocked with his hockey stick. Casey then jumped out of the way of a certain fist from a certain muscle headed Neanderthal.

"Well, well, well. We meet again, Jones." Hun said as he cracked his knuckles with a sinister smile.

"Hun." Casey growled.

Ty-Lee jumped a bit near them. "I take it you guys know each other?"

"Oh yeah we've met." Hun replied, not taking his eyes off Casey.

"You've thickened up though, haven't you?" Casey cracked. "Maybe you should cut out snacks before bed."

Hun's eyes shot with anger. "That's it!" He threw his fist forward, which Casey ducked to avoid. Casey slammed the stick across Hun's face forcing him back a bit, but Hun retaliated with a powerful kick to send Casey rolling back. Though Casey got up and drew a golf club with his bat and parried punches from Hun. Mai and Ty-Lee found themselves watching this battle.

"Is it just me… or do those guys have some kind of grudge?" Ty-Lee guessed to Mai, who merely shrugged in response.

"This fight is over." Azula announced as she held the Earth King in front of her, with a small blue flame above her index finger.

Casey looked to the girl with a glare. "So, you're Princess Nutjob huh?"

"Princess _Azula_!" She corrected with a glare.

"Nah, I'm sticking with 'Nutjob'." Casey insisted.

"If you want the death of a monarch on your hands, keep talking." Azula threatned as she brought her flame closer to the Earth King.

Casey sighed as he dropped his weapons and raised his hands. Ty-Lee came in and blocked his chi, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Get them all out of my sight!" Azula ordered as a few Foot soldiers came in, dragging Casey, and escorting the Earth King and his pet bear out of the throne room. Hun smiled at this.

Azula looked to see the door open, with Shredder, Karai, and the Elite Ninja all enter the throne room. Ty-Lee hid behind Mai once Shredder came into her field of vision; where as Hun and all the Foot Ninja bowed.

"Master. The Council of Five, as well as the Earth King have been captured. Ba-Sing-Se is under your control." Hun told him.

"And so a country falls." Shredder stated.

There was a dialing tone coming from a communicator Karai held. She opened it and Stockman spoke through it.

" _Master, my surveillance footage says the Turtles and there new friends are about to meet up soon in the catacombs underneath Ba-Sing-Se. Multiple Foot soldiers are already on there way."_

Karai choose to speak up. "Father, I understand the threat the Turtles represent, but the Avatar is only a child. Are we not honor-bound to show him any form of mercy?"

Shredder glanced at Karai "'Honor-bound'? Karai, you must learn that your duty to me, is far more important than your honor."

Karai was quite shocked at this. "I… I understand father."

"We shall see Karai." Shredder told her. "For you shall aid in slaying the Turtles. Azula, Hun, Elite Ninja, you will all follow and slay the Turtles as well as their new friends."

"With great pleasure, Master Shredder." Hun said with a grin.

"While I would indeed enjoy settling the score with those reptiles, what of the Avatar?" Azula asked.

"I want to finish him, myself." Shredder declared.

* * *

 _Catacombs._

There was a bit of a silence between Katara and Zuko for some time. Her fury seems to have cooled quite a bit.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you for before."

"It doesn't matter." Zuko said, looking away.

"It's just… for so long now, whenever I'd imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face." Katara said.

"My face." Zuko repeated as he held his scar. "I see."

Katara realized what he meant. "No… no, that's not what I meant."

"It's okay." Zuko replied. "I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the Banished Prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've released that I'm free to determine my own destiny. Even if I'll never be free of my mark."

"Maybe you could be free of it."

That caught his attention "What?"

"I have healing abilities." Katara said.

"It's a scar, it can't be healed." Zuko replied.

Katara took out a small vile filled with special water. "This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties so I've been saving it for something important, I don't know if it'll work but…"

Zuko gave a slight nod, knowing what she was implying. He closed his eyes to let he do what she needed to. She gently felt his scar. Before anything else can happen though, there was a loud explosion, which got both their attention. Coming out of the dust were Leo, Aang, Splinter, and Iroh.

"Aang!" Katara happily exclaimed as she ran to him with a hug. Iroh did the same for Zuko, but Leo and Splinter both noticed a glare between the Avatar and the Fire Prince.

"Maybe we came at a bad time." Leo guessed.

Zuko glanced at the Turlte and Rat and formed a Firebending stance. "Who or what are you!?"

"We're not your enemies!" Leo tried.

"We mean you no harm, young prince." Splinter also said.

"Uncle!" Zuko began. "I don't understand. What are you doing with the Avatar and these… things!?"

"Saving you, that's what!" Aang replied with a hostile tone, but Leo put a hand on his shoulder.

"We don't have time for this Aang."

Iroh put a hand on Zuko's shoulder as well. "Zuko, it's time we talked." He turned to the group. "Go help your other friends, we'll catch up with you."

"Do not stay too long." Splinter informed Iroh. "This city is no longer safe." With that, Leo, Splinter, and Aang ran back out the tunnel with Katara close behind, though she gave a slight glance towards Zuko before running with her friends.

"Why Uncle?" Zuko asked.

"You're not the man you used to be Zuko." Iroh began. "You are stronger, wiser, and freer than you have ever been, and now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose, it's time for you to choose good."

Zuko looked quite conflicted; but before anything else could be said, there was a cloud of smoke as multiple Foot Ninja appeared and crossed there blades around Iroh's throat. Zuko was about to attack them, if it weren't for a certain voice.

"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle." Azula began as she walked in, with Shredder close behind her. "But Zuko, _Prince_ Zuko, you're a lot of things; but you're not a traitor, are you?"

"Tell your dogs to release him immediately!" Zuko exclaimed, referring to the Foot Ninja holding his uncle at sword-point.

"Watch your tone boy!" Shredder warned as Zuko looked like he was about to strike him, but Azula held a hand in front of Shredder.

"I'll handle this." She told Shredder before addressing Zuko again. "It's not too late for you Zuko, you can still redeem yourself."

"The kind of redemption they offer is not for you." Iroh told Zuko.

"Mind your tongue, fallen dragon." Shredder told Iroh as Azula continued to speak.

"I need you Zuko, The Foot and I have plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back; you will have Father's love; you will have everything you want."

"Zuko." Iroh began. "I'm begging you, look into your heart and decide what it is that you truly want."

Zuko looked down in confliction. "You are free to choose." Azula said as she walked down the tunnel after the enemy. Zuko looked to see Shredder was still standing there.

"Why are you still here?" He questioned.

"It seems you lack proper motivation, young Fire Prince." Shredder said. He looked towards his Foot Ninja and nodded. They brought there blades closer to Iroh's throat.

"NO!" Zuko shouted.

"Enough." Shredder told his ninja as they lowered their blades a bit, but kept Iroh held. "Zuko, is it? I have a proposition. Should you choose to aid me and help in destroying our common enemy; the Turtles and the Avatar, you shall be so greatly rewarded. However, if you side against me…" Shredder leaned in close so that only Zuko can hear. "I will hunt down and slaughter everyone you love." Zuko's eyes widened at this. "Your father, your mother, your sister, your uncle, your friends; I will butcher them all. I will force you to watch as all those you care for are slaughtered, and then, when you have accepted the reality of your despair, I will grant you death's sweet release." Shredder stood up. "The choice is yours, I suggest you choose wisely, Fire Nation Prince Zuko."

Shredder walked away as Zuko let the words of Shredder's threat sink into his mind.

* * *

Leo, Aang, Katara, and Master Splinter ran out into the massive crystal chamber as fast as they could.

"We gotta find the others!" Katara exclaimed.

"I do not believe we'll need to." Splinter replied as they heard a rumble-noise. A large explosion occurred from the wall nearby; this was due to Toph's Earthbending, who ran out to join the others with Sokka, Raph, Don, and Mikey close behind.

"Katara!" Sokka exclaimed as he hugged his sister, who returned the hug.

"What's going on?" Aang asked. "Where's the Earth King?"

"Casey went on the warn him." Raph replied. "Anyway, where's the scar-faced guy?"

"And Iroh? What about him?" Toph asked as well.

"Uh… I think they're the least of our worries now." Don stated as a blue fireball shot towards them. Fortunately, Splinter came in and used a palm-thrust to dispel the flame. They all looked to the obvious offender.

"Don't you have anything better to do with your life than come after us all the time?" Raph questioned to Azula.

Azula flashed an evil smile. "What's better than seeking glory for…"

"Uh… I'm just gonna stop you right there." Mikey interrupted the princess. "I'm sure you've got this whole speech planned on how you're better than us in anyway, but my bros and I have heard every big evil monologue there is, and coming from a little girl like you, it's just coming off lame. So just say that you're going to try and kill us and stop embarrassing yourself."

Raph, Toph, Don, and even Leo smirked at Mikey's comment to Azula while Aang, Sokka, and Katara's jaws hung open at Mikey talking like that to her. Splinter's expression remained neutral.

Azula had a blank stare on her face before it turned to pure rage. "You dare? You dare?! You treat me like I'm some kind of villain!? You wretched, ignorant, reptile!" She lost all composure at this point. "Just who do you think you're talking to!? Well before this day is over, I swear that I will INCENERATE YOU!" Azula shrieked. "Is that better?"

"Like a million times better, thank you." Mikey told her.

"Uh Mikey… I don't think Azula's the only one we have to worry about." Toph warned as she sensed more coming this way.

Once that was said, at least a dozen Foot Ninja all came in alongside Azula; forcing the Turtles, Splinter, and Casey to draw there weapons and Aang, Katara, and Toph to take bending stances. Soon, a large plum of smoke erupted in front of the villains, which cleared away to reveal the Foot Elite. Most of the Gaang was slightly taken abak by there intimidating appearance.

"Nice hats." Sokka complemented.

"Sokka!" Katara lightly scolded.

"Yeah, we thought so to." Mikey agreed with Sokka.

"Say what you will about the Foot, but they do not skip on the head-gear." Don added.

"But who are these guys?" Aang asked.

"The Foot Elite Guard." Splinter replied. "They are the deadliest of the ninja, lethal assassins."

Aang and Katara looked quite scared at that last comment. But that wasn't the end of it; right after, many Foot Ninja cleared the way as two individuals stepped in front. One was the hulking behemoth most recognized as Hun; the other was the swordswoman, Karai.

"You again?!" Sokka pointed to Hun.

"Missed me, freaks?" Hun asked. "Looks like you're all buddied up with the other freaks on this planet."

"Freaks? Is he talking about us?" Katara asked.

" _We're_ the freaks?!" Toph questioned. "Why don't you come over here so I can smack that grin of your face big guy!?" She challenged. No one however, seemed to notice that Leo and Karai had both there eyes locked on each other, as though it we're some form of visual combat.

However, none we're prepared for what came next. Many of the Foot soldiers cleared the way; as a certain armored individual fell from the ceiling and landed in the clearing in between the Foot forces and the heroes. As soon as he landed; the Foot Ninja, Elite Ninja, Karai, and Hun all bowed to him, with Azula even lowering her head as well. Aang, Katara, and Sokka we're greatly taken aback by his intimidating and terrifying appearance, with the Turtles looking in dread while Splinter scowled.

"No…" Leo breathed.

"Oh crud." Raph cursed.

"It can't be…" Don breathed as well.

"It's really him…." Mikey also breathed.

"Uh… why is everyone suddenly terrified?" Toph questioned as she felt all there hearts skip a beat.

"Who… is… that…?" Aang asked.

"That, is the master of the Foot clan, the most evil and vile enemy we have ever faced before." Splinter said with a scowl. "The Shredder."

Katara and Sokka we're quite scared at that. "Shredder? How'd he earn that name?" Katara asked with fear evident in there voice.

Shredder stepped forward. "You freaks have been a thorn in my side long enough. You and all your newfound allies will never leave this place alive."

"Geeze, what you guys do to make this guy mad?" Toph questioned to the Turtles.

Shredder's eyes fell on Aang. "This is the Avatar?"

"Yes, that's him." Azula confirmed

"Hmph." Shredder was not impressed. "When I heard of a being on this planet who could control all the elements, and travels with a band of equally skilled fighters; I had expected to find warriors, not school-children. How disappointing."

"School children?!" Toph angrily questioned, ready to fight, until Don put a hand on her should.

"Not a good idea Toph." He warned.

"Either way, this place shall be your tomb." Shredder continued. "Say farewell to each other, while you still can."

"Oh yeah, Mr.… fancy-armor-guy!?" Sokka tried. "Maybe you should say farewell to… uh… to yourself!"

"Oh yeah Sokka, that got em." Raph said sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm under a lot of pressure, alright!?"

"Silence!" Shredder commanded.

Aang took the time to speak with Leo. "Uh.. Leo, who is this guy exactly."

"I'll explain later, if we survive this."

"If?!" Katara, Sokka, Toph and Aang all questioned at the same time.

"Okay, honestly. What are we looking at here?" Sokka asked.

"Guys… we're in for the fight of our lives." Leo told them.

"Foot Ninja, Attack!" Shredder ordered. "Destroy them all!"

With that the battle had begun. The Foot Ninja we're the first to charge forward at the heroes forcing them to all scatter.

Leo fell back, using Jet's hook swords once again. He had five Foot Ninja all coming toward him, with there own katana blades. Leo blocked the relentless assault, stuck on defense until all five threw there blades down on him; Leo used his right sword to block two and the left sword to block the other three. He struggled against there grip until he let the hooks of the swords get caught in the Ninjas' blades and with one long swipe with both blades, cut away the swords off the Foot Ninja; he then gave a double-spinning-round-house to knock them all back. More Foot we're about to come in from behind until a fire blast separated Leo from the ninja.

Leo and the Foot soldiers looked to see Zuko walk forward. There was a bit of a heated-stare down between Zuko, Leo, and the Foot ninja. Zuko looked towards Shredder who threw a glance to him, remembering the threat, Zuko really had no choice anymore. He reluctantly shot a fireball towards Leo, forcing him back. Zuko drew his Dao-Swords and clashed blades with the blue-clad Turtle.

Katara jumped backwards towards a stream of water, when four Foot Ninja came forward and threw multiple shurikens towards her. Katara bent some of the water in front of her and turned it into ice to shield her from the shurikens. She melted the ice and formed two long water whips in her arms and shot them outward towards the Foot Ninja. One tentacle snapped one hard to send him flying; another ensnared two, which she threw away with increased strength from the water. The last one came in with his sword but Katara ducked and sent the water from her whips forward, splashing hard into the ninja.

Katara ducked just in time however to avoid a horizontal sword swipe, Katara rolled a bit closer to the water to see Karai facing her. Katara drew more water from the stream and shot out multiple ice-spikes to Karai, which she deflected with her own blades before rushing forward.

Toph punched hard into the ground and created an earth-wave to blast back several Foot soldiers coming her way. Some tried to jump down towards her, but with a swiping kick from her feet, she sent a rock to hit all of them hard to send them flying. She then felt familiar steps rushing towards her. Toph threw an earth-colloum forward towards the incoming Hun, which he punched threw and it shattered, much to Toph's surprise.

Hun was revealed to be wearing large metal gauntlets with electricity surging in the knuckles. "Ready for round two, little freak?" Hun challenged as he slammed the electric knuckles together.

"Bring it, ugly." Toph accepted as she spat. She motioned for him to bring it on. He charged forward with a yell reeling a fist back. Toph hopped on an earth-ramp and sped towards Hun. She magnetized several rocks together in her right fist and reeled back with her own yell. Toph and Hun both connected their fists together, creating a shockwave to knock both of them back.

Raph had knocked back two Foot Ninja and turned around to see Toph getting back up to face Hun. Raph growled, as he knew Hun was likely going to use some dirty trick on her. He was about to charge forward, but an Elite Ninja, the one wielding the trident jumped in front and nearly impaled Raph with his weapon. Fortunately, the red-clad Turtle jumped back.

"Outta my way pal." Raph told him as he was standing between him and Toph. But the Elite Ninja simply twirled his trident and took a combat stance. "Have it your way." Raph stated as he twirled his Sais and they both rushed towards each other, Raph used his sais to catch the blade of the trident as they locked weapons.

Mikey, Don, and Sokka found themselves in a three-way-back-to-back. Several Foot ninja jumped towards them from all sides.

"Sokka, Mikey, duck!" Don ordered as they all did and the Ninja all slammed into each other, knocking them out.

Sokka flashed a bit of a smile. "Well that was easy." Only for Mikey and Don to face-palm at that.

"Sokka! You don't ever say it's easy! Ever!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Why?" Sokka asked, but Don pulled him down to avoid an axe-strike from one of the Foot Elite, who wielded the axe as his weapon. While the other two Elite Ninja, the one with the spear, and the other with the double-bladed sword, faced Mikey and Don.

"That's why." Don replied to Sokka's question.

"Oh."

The three Elite Ninja charged forward at the two Turtles, and Water Tribesman.

Aang meanwhile found himself in a heated duel with Azula. She shot out a series of blue fireballs towards him; only for Aang to jump over a stream and shoot a wave towards Azula, which she shot out flames from her feet to propel herself over it and land behind Aang; shooting more fireballs at him. Aang retaliated by using Earthbending to make a crystal-wall to protect himself. He then shot multiple crystals forward to Azula, only for her to incinerate them with an arc of blue fire. She propelled herself again with her hands and feet; clasing directly into Aang and the two fell on the other side of the stream. Aang tumbled while Azula landed gracefully.

As Aang tried to get up, Azula was reading a strike of lighting until a furred hand grabbed her by the wrist and forced her to shoot the lighting upward to the ceiling, which then exploded. Master Splinter then thrusted his open palm to Azula's chest, forcing her back quite a distance.

"Azula!" Splinter exclaimed to her. "You wish to fight? Fight a true master!"

"If you insist." Azula replied as she got up and shot a stream of blue fire towards him; only for Splinter to quickly swerve around it and rush towards the Fire Princess.

Aang got up to see at least three Foot Ninja standing in front of him. "No!" Shredder stepped in front of the Ninja. "Finish off the others. This boy is mine." The Foot jumped away. Shredder then rushed towards Aang with his clawed gauntlet.

Aang tried to erect an earth-shield to protect him, only for the shield to shatter with Shredder's slash. He gave a kick to Aang's chest and forced him to one of the tall pillars in the chamber. Shredder then pinned Aang hard against the pillar and tried to bring his claws down on his throat, Aang made some earth-gauntlets to catch the gauntlet. They struggled against each other; Aang was completely astounded by his opponent's strength and speed. He was not like any enemy they've faced before. Aang could only look into his red eyes and saw the murderous intent deep inside. Aang inhaled deeply and sent a massive gust of wind that knocked Shredder back.

Aang landed to see Shredder roll back on his feet. Aang then sent a series of airwaves towards Shredder, but he moved with such speed that he was able to avoid them all, much to Aang's shock. Before he knew it, Shredder was right in front of Aang, he brought his claws down onto Aang's chest, knocking him back. Aang grunted as he got back up, but held his wound and could see two long tears in his shirt, as well as two bleeding cuts on his chest. He could only look in fear at the bladed-monster slowly approaching him with deadly intent.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se Dungeoun._

Casey and the Earth King we're both being held in a single cell with two Foot ninja guarding it. The Earth King seemed quite depressed at the situation.

"What are we going to do now?" He questioned.

Casey soon had a smile on his face. "Don't worry you're majesty. I have a plan." Casey walked up to the door. "Hey! Foot dumbasses! Why don't you come in here and I make you my pretty little girlfriends!? You'll have to shower for weeks! But you'll never get the smell of you!"

That made the ninja quite angry as they both opened the door to teach Casey a lesson, only for Casey to punch one hard in the jaw knocking him out. Casey then grabbed the other's head and slammed it against the wall. He then picked up a few smoke bombs from the Ninja's unconscious bodies as they might come in handy.

Casey then motioned to the open door. "After you, your majesty."

"I'm not leaving without Bosco!"

"Oh for the love of…" Casey breathed as he held his face.

* * *

 _Catacombs_

The warzone erupted into what could only be described as a warzone. The Ninja Turtles as well as Team Avatar locked in mortal combat with the Shredder and his Foot clan, with some allies as well.

Sokka was stuck on the defensive end, using his machete to defend against the relentless assault from the Elite Ninja with the axe. Sokka couldn't find one single opening to attack. When the Elite Ninja locked his axe with Sokka's machete, Sokka tried to kick him, only for the Elite to swipe him off his feet. He almost brought the axe down onto Sokka, only for Sokka to roll out of the way. Once he was far enough away, he threw his boomerang towards the Elite, which clearly missed. The Elite slowly approached him, but Sokka looked to see the boomerang coming back towards the Elite, but could only look in absolute shock at what came next. The Elite Ninja used his Axe to bat away the incoming boomerang.

Sokka then quickly ran underneath the Elite and picked up his boomerang. "No. But… boomerang never fails me." Sokka looked in the reflection of his beloved weapon to see an axe coming down towards him; forcing Sokka to block it by crossing his axe and machete together.

Don continued to block the assault from the Elite wielding the spear. He jumped backwards over the stream and the ninja followed by jumping straight after him. Don ducked underneath one horizontal slice and rolled behind him to quickly smack the Elite in the back with his staff, only for the Elite to roll back on his feet and twirl the spear. Don them pole-vaulted to the Elite, planting both his feet onto his chest, knocking him down, but the Elite got back up to thrust his spear forward, only for Don to block it with the middle of his staff.

Meanwhile; Mikey rolled back to avoid a series of slices from the Elite wielding the double bladed sword. Mikey caught one end of the weapon in his right nunchuck and tried to attack with his left one, only for the Elite to swerve back to the side and avoid it, the Elite then kicked Mikey in the abs, causing him to roll back. Mikey jumped backwards out of the way to avoid the impalement of the double bladed sword, which stuck into the ground. "No one said this was gonna be easy." Mikey said as he charged forward, this time going on the offensive.

Raph was also busy dancing with his Foot Elite, who was wielding the trident. He performed multiple jabs with the trident, forcing Raph to swerve around each jab. Raph then jumped upward and fell down, sais-forward, only for the Elite to block the attack with the stick-part of the spear. Raph then curved his feet downward to plant a good solid kick in the head of his Elite, knocking him into the stream.

Toph was tossed back threw an entire pillar and skidded to a half with Earthbending. She whipped some blood from her mouth as she felt Hun roaring towards her. Toph created some armor by magnetizing rocks all over her body. She propelled herself forward and slammed Hun in the gut with her rock-covered fists, while Hun spat out some blood, he grinned as he grabbed Toph's armored body and slammed her into the ground, loosing her armor. Hun reeled back one of his gauntlets to punch the armor completely off Toph.

"Say goodnight, you little brat." Hun was about to finish her off, only for Raph to jump in and plant his feet on his chest, knocking Hun down. Raph stood on top of Hun's chest as he glared at him.

"Hun, never, EVER, threaten her! Raph told him as Hun tried to punch Raph off, only for the red-clad Turtle to jump back. Hun got up on his feet, only for Raph to perform a bicycle-kick to the jaw, knocking Hun back.

Raph helped Toph up. "You okay, kid?"

"I'll live." Toph replied. They both turned to see Hun get back up, looking quite angry.

"Kid, what do you say we take em together?" Raph offered.

"Thought you never ask." Toph replied with a grin. They both motioned with there hands for Hun to 'bring it on'. Hun responded by clashing his gauntlet's knuckles again and charging straight at the pair.

Katara meanwhile found herself on the defensive end with Karai. Despite not being a bender, she was more than capable of holding her own against the Waterbender. Katara enveloped her arms in water tentacles from the stream behind her and shot her left tentacle towards Karai, which she used her one of her katanas to slice through, the severed end fell to the floor in a heap. Karai rushed to Katara, thinking quick, Katara shortened her water tentacles to form ice-blades in her arms and block Karai's blades. But Karai had sweapt Katara off her feet and Karai pointed a sword near her face.

"Surrender, and no harm shall come to you." Karai told her.

Katara just glared as she used her Waterbending to bring multiple water droplets towards Karai from the back, which took the form of ice-shards, which Karai sliced through with her swords, but Katara used this to jump over the stream.

"I do not wish to harm you." Karai tried. "You're skill with the use of water is most impressive, but you cannot defeat me."

"Try telling it to someone else sword-lady!" Katara responded by brining a ball of water forward and sending more ice-shards Karai's way, forcing her to jump back. Karai sheathed her right katana and drew a long chain, which she threw at Katara, tying her up in it. Karai pulled Katara over the stream and towards her. Karai put her in an arm lock.

"There is no point in continuing any further." Karai persisted, but Katara used some of the water around her body to explode out of the chain and escape Karai's grip.

"I will never surrender!" Katara exclaimed.

"I don't understand." Karai said. "This is war, you are a child. Children do not belong in war, you need not involve yourself in such a bloody conflict."

"You think I want to fight?!" Katara angrily exclaimed. "The Fire Nation has plagued this planet for a hundred years! Innocent people are dying! I don't want this war to continue!"

"Then why involve yourself in it!?" Karai questioned. "I understand your mother but…"

"How dare you." Katara interrupted. "How dare you even mention my mother!" Katara angrily threw out a massive water wave towards Karai, forcing her to jump through it and slice her own way through with her katana blades. "You guys are just like the Fire Nation! Spreading death and destruction and hate everywhere!"

"I am not loyal to the Fire Nation!" Karai responded. "I am only loyal to my father."

Katara found herself shocked at that. "That… Shredder guy… is your father!?"

"Yes." Karai replied. "Could you so easily turn away from your father?"

"What are you trying to say? What do you want?!" Katara questioned.

"It's obvious you care for the Avatar." Karai began. "As I said, children do not belong in war; I can convince my father to spare the Avatar if he surrenders, as well as the Turtles. As for you and your friends, if you leave Ba-Sing-Se now, the Foot will not come after you; they won't concern themselves with children if they no longer involve themselves. Leave now, this will be your only chance."

"I will never do that!" Katara replied. "I'll never leave Aang's side! I won't leave the Turtles either after all they've done for us! They won't give up and surrender to the likes of you, and neither will I!"

"I see." Karai looked somewhat regretful. "I am sorry, but I an honor-bound to serve my father, and defeat you." Karai rushed forward with her blades as Katara reformed some ice-blades and locked her weapons with Karai's.

Leo jumped and avoided a fireball from Zuko. When Leo charged forward with the hook-swords, Zuko clashed with his dao-blades. Once Zuko let his own swords on fire, he was able to slice through Jet's hook swords, much to Leo's shock. Leo jumped back and discarded the handles of the broken swords to draw his katanas.

"You uncle spoke so highly of you Zuko." Leo tried. "He said there was good in you. He said that you could change, that you understand honor…"

"What do you know?!" Zuko questioned as he swung his flaming blades outward, sending six fire missiles towards Leo. Leo sliced through the center two and jumped through the gap he made to avoid the remaining four as they exploded behind him.

"I was tough that honor, bushido, means everything to a true warrior!" Leo went on the offensive and sliced with such force it knocked Zuko's swords out of his hands. Zuko jumped back and sent multiple fire-fists towards Leo, forcing him to cartwheel backwards and avoid them all. Leo landed behind a pillar and saw a fireball coming towards him, but he jumped up and landed in front just before it exploded on the pillar.

"But if you serve someone like the Shredder or the Fire Lord, then you have no honor!" Leo told Zuko. This made Zuko quite angry as he furiously created two fire-whips in his arms and flung them towards Leo. Leo ducked under one and sliced through it. He got closer and blocked each snap and strike with his katanas and got close enough to Zuko to get a good kick in the chin, knocking Zuko back.

"But it's not too late." Leo tried. "You don't have to serve the Shredder or the Fire Lord. I can see that there is good in you Zuko. Help us." Leo sheathed his swords and even offered Zuko a hand, much to his surprise.

Zuko looked shocked and considered taking it, but he remembered what Shredder told him. So with a pained look, he shot a fire-fist forward, forcing Leo back. Leo saw the look on Zuko's face.

"I don't want to do this, but I have no choice." Zuko said.

Leo had a good guess what it was that was bothering him. "This isn't some inner conflict thing is it? What does Shredder have on you? If he's trying something we can help you!"

"No you can't. No one can." Zuko said. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this." Zuko threw more fire fists towards Leo, forcing him to draw his katanas and block the strikes again.

Azula found herself in a heated duel as well, only she was on the defensive end. She flung a fire-dagger, towards Splinter, but he shoved it away with his right hand and grabbed her wrist and flung her over his shoulder, but she landed gracefully on her feet. Azula erected two long blue fire whips around her arms and snapped them forward, but Splinter avoided each attack with such grace and agility, it was very frustrating for Azula, she could not land so much as a single hit.

Splinter went on the offensive and delivered multiple quick jabs to her chest, knocking the wind out of her and forcing her back into the stream. She got up on her feet in the water and took multiple deep breaths.

"I advise you to surrender, and I promise, no harm shall come to you." Splinter said.

"What is this?" Azula questioned.

"It is a chance for you to walk away right now." Splinter told her. "You are ruthless and conniving, but you are still just a child. One I believe to be more misguided than truly evil."

"You sound just like my uncle, rodent." Azula told him. "So much talk, so annoying."

"And yet, you are the one who is loosing." Splinter stated, this angered Azula enough to send a plume of blue fire towards him, only for Splinter to jump over it and land behind Azula. She tried to whip an attack at him, but he grabbed her wrist and used his staff to pin her arm behind her back, rather painfully.

"Even if you do not want to hear what I have to say, take this to heart. If you trust the Shredder, you will regret it." Splinter warned.

"Thanks for the warning, now keep your mercy to yourself, rat!" Azula shot blue fire from her feet to force Splinter off of her, causing him to jump away.

Aang found himself in his own heated battle against the Shredder, one that he was lucky just to be alive up till this point. Shredder was much faster and stronger than any opponent he'd ever face before; even more than Azula. Aang tried to attack Shredder by sending multiple rocks in his direction, but Shredder sliced and broke through each one, not one successive damaging attack had been made at this point. Plus the large cut on Aang's chest didn't help either. Aang tried to run on an Air-Scooter to put himself at a distance from Shredder. He pulled water out of the nearby stream and sent it directly towards Shredder, scoring a direct hit and slamming him into the wall onto the far side.

Aang Air-Scootered towards the location to see if Shredder was down. He saw a pile of rocks, with no apparent sign of activity. Aang breathed a sigh of relief. Two seconds later; a clawed gauntlet burst from the rubble and grabbed Aang by the throat.

"Stupid boy, never let your guard down in front of an enemy." Shredder said as he punched Aang hard in the gut, forcing him to cough up blood. Shredder than gave a hard kick to knock Aang back several feet. Aang felt his side as that kick cracked a few ribs. He could only look in fear as Shredder slowly approached him.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Aang asked. "Why are you helping the Fire Nation? Why are we fighting? What did I ever do to you?!"

"Ignorant child!" Shredder slammed his foot hard on Aang, pinning him to the ground. "I do not serve those ignorant fools in that back-water country! They are my pawns! As for you, you are an ally of the Turtles, and therefore, an enemy to me." Shredder picked Aang up by the shirt and brought him close to his face. "Even so, even if you never met them, you would likely interfere in the plans I have for this world. Those that are not with me are against me, and I crush anyone who stands against me!"

Shredder pulled a fist back and punched Aang hard in the face; knocking him back. Aang then coated himself in crystal-armor and charged towards Shredder. Aang tried to punch him, but Shredder avoided the attack and proceeded to attack Aang with several punches and kicks, actually cracking the armor. One large diagonal slice from his claws cut Aang away from his armor.

Aang rolled back and used what strength he had to shoot multiple streams of air and water as well as several rocks at Shredder. He took all the impacts, which knocked the evil ninjitsu master back; but Shredder with inhuman reflexes grabbed one large rock coming towards him and used the momentum to fling it back at Aang, much to the Avatar's shock. It scored a direct hit and sent Aang flying hard against a wall, leaving a huge impression on it.

* * *

 _Earth King's Throne Room_

Mai sat nonchalantly on the stairs leading up to the throne while Ty-Lee was spending time with Bosco. Stockman was also present, though he was just standing with his arms-crossed.

"Come on, its easy." Ty-Lee told Bosco. "You just walk on your front paws instead of your rear ones, like this." Ty-Lee began to walk on her hands.

Stockman sighed. "All my genius and I'm stuck babysitting." His rant was interrupted by a smoke bomb to roll in front of Ty-Lee, creating a smoke cloud.

Ty-Lee stood on her feet again as she coughed, but Casey in his hockey mask came around Ty-Lee and wrapped his arm around her throat.

"Hey, that is a nice trick." Casey complemented before he put Ty-Lee in a sleeper hold to knock her out. Before Stockman could react, Casey came in and knocked the robotic-scientist off his feet with a powerful elbow. Casey turned to Mai and drew his hockey stick.

"Just take the bear." Mai said.

"Bosco!" The Earth King happily exclaimed as he hugged his beloved bear.

* * *

 _Catacombs_

Aang was picked up by Shredder, only for the Avatar to launch an earth-column below him to knock himself into the air. Once Aang saw Shredder was coming towards him, fear took form in him as Aang used Airbending at Shredder, not just to keep him away, but to get away. Aang fell more towards the center of the massive chambers; while all the other battles continued to intensify, Aang was on his knees as he breathed heavily, his clothes we're battered and torn, there was a long bleeding cut on his chest, and at least two of his ribs we're cracked. He even felt a bit of blood trickle down his face as there was a slight cut on his forehead and he even coughed up some blood as well.

"So strong…" Aang breathed. "So fast… I… I can't beat him…. I…" Shredder picked Aang up once again.

"This is all you have?" Shredder questioned. "Truly pathetic." Shredder pulled back a palm strike, and delivered it hard to Aang's left elbow, completely dislocating his entire left arm.

Aang's painful scream would echo throughout the entire chamber; getting the attention of everyone; all of Aang's friends, even Karai and Zuko looked in shock and terror at seeing Aang like this; especially Katara. Shredder was pulling back his claws.

"NO!" Katara screamed as she created an ice-ramp to sail past Karai and straight for Shredder. She formed a water whip in her right arm and slammed Shredder with it, forcing him back a few steps and forcing him to drop Aang.

Shredder now had his attention focused on this girl. Katara pulled tons of water from the stream and sent it straight at Shredder but he simply sliced through it with his claws; much to her shock. Before she knew it, Shredder was right in front of her, he slammed his knee into her gut, knocking all the wind right out of her.

"Back off Metalhead!" Shredder heard a voice say as multiple boulders hit Shredder hard, forcing him to drop Katara. Toph then shot an Earth-column towards Shredder, only for him to run right on straight towards her, she fell back just in time to avoid a claw strike. She then used Earthbending to sink Shredder's feet into the ground. While he was stuck, she jumped behind him and tried to punch his armor with Metalbending, but once her fist connected all she could feel was pain.

"Ow! What the hell!?" Toph screamed as she held her aching fist. She heard Shredder step out of her trap. "What the shell is that armor made of?!" Toph questioned. But she didn't get an answer as Shredder planted multiple punches onto Toph, and one hard kick to her face sent her flying.

Shredder then heard a high-pitched yell as Sokka tried to come in from behind, but Shredder swerved out of the way and he simply slapped Sokka back with the back of his hand. Shredder then saw multiple ice-spikes heading his direction, but he crossed his arms to brace himself.

Shredder then ran towards Katara as she desperately shot multiple ice-disk towards Shredder. She couldn't believe this, just how much punishment can this guy take? She tried to fling a water-whip at him, but he curved under it and punched her in the jaw, knocking her down. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her, causing her to scream.

"Foolish girl, you are nothing to me." Shredder pulled his claws back, ready to end her. Katara could only look in dread as tears of fear formed in her eyes.

"NOO!" Splinter gave a hard and powerful kick to Shredder's chest, forcing him to drop Katara. "You raise your arms against children!? You have no honor!"

"I fight to win, rat!" Shredder told him. The two hated enemies glared before they engaged each other in combat.

They both moved with equal speed. Splinter blocked and parried many of Shredder's clawed strikes with his cane and palms. Splinter gave a kick to Shredder, which he swerved to avoid as Shredder tried to bring his elbow down onto Splinter, but the rat caught it and used the momentum to flip Shredder over. Splinter went on the offensive with multiple strikes towards Shredder, but he was able to avoid or parry each and every one of them.

"Master Splinter!" Leo exclaimed as he, Raph, Don, and Mikey all got together.

"We have to help him!" Mikey exclaimed to.

Don looked up towards the side. "Guys, we got more company!" Coming out holes in the sides of the massive chamber were more and more Foot Ninja, there we're at least five dozen more as they quickly came to there master's aid.

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Raph exclaimed as a large portion of the Foot ninja surrounded the Turtles.

Sokka and Toph found themselves back-to-back as several other Foot Ninja surrounded them. Katara got up with loose hair to see she was surrounded by at least ten Foot Ninja herself. Not willing to give up she created a series of water tentacles to surround her.

Aang struggled to get as he held his dislocated arm. He looked at what was going on. He saw the Elite Ninja, Hun, Karai, Zuko, and Azula all approaching towards him. Aang looked to see Shredder and Splinter fighting and the seemed to be evenly matched. Aang saw the Turtles having trouble against the many Foot ninja coming there way as well as Toph and Sokka. Aang looked towards Katara who was also surrounded. "There's too many." He said to himself.

" _The only way is to let her go."_

Aang realized he had no other choice. "I'm sorry Katara." He created a crystal dome around himself and sat in a meditative position, with his left and dislocated arm dangling. His only option now was to open the last chakra, which meant he had to let Katara go.

While he meditated, he once again found himself on the astral path towards a massive transparent figure of himself with a glowing purple sphere in its' hands. Aang entered the sphere and allowed the energy to wash all over him.

Aang's arrows began to glow as a white light shined through the crystals; this caught the attention of Splinter, Katara, Leo, Zuko, Raph, Don, Mikey, Karai, Azula, Toph, Sokka, Hun, Shredder, The Elite Ninja, and all the Foot Ninja. All the fights stopped to see this. Though Splinter used this momentary distraction to leap towards his sons, who couldn't take their eyes off this.

"Aang." Leo spoke to himself. "You're doing it aren't you? You're opening the last Charka."

Aang's eyes shot open to reveal white light. A massive wave of white energy blew away the crystal dome. It was so powerful that it blew away Zuko, Azula, Karai, Hun, all the Elite Ninja, and several Foot Ninja even.

Avatar Aang hovered just a few feet off the ground in a beam of white light; many of the Foot Ninja slowly backed away at the sight of this, even Hun could only look in complete and utter surprise.

"Aw yeah!" Sokka cheered. "Go Aang! Take these guys down!"

"Show them what-for Twinkle Toes!" Toph cheered as well.

"Kick there shells kid!" Raph cheered as well.

"So cool…" Mikey breathed at seeing Aang like this.

"Amazing." Don breathed as well.

Karai could only look with her mouth hung open and wide eyes, she dropped her katanas in disbelief. "This… this is the power… of the Avatar?"

Splinter smiled, as did Leo. Katara looked towards Aang with a hopeful smile as well. Leo however saw something that could only make him look in absolute dread.

"Aang! BEHIND YOU!"

But it was too late. A pair of metal claws pierced through Aang's chest, right through his heart. Aang's body exploded in shock as his entire Avatar Spirit had been pierced. Shredder had stabbed Aang in the back.

On the spirit-plane, the spiritual-Avatar fell limp and the sphere of energy died, allowing Aang's spirit to fall to the Earth.

Aang's body went limp in Shredder's claws. With a powerful heave, Shredder threw Aang with such force it sent him flying.

All eyes we're widened with shock at what just happened; Leo, Splinter, Toph, Sokka, Raph, Mikey, even Zuko and Karai could only look in horror at this; even Azula was taken aback by this act. Katara's eyes watered as tears fell from them, she created a tidal wave and soared over to where Aang was being tossed. She washed over several Foot Ninja as she caught Aang in her arms.

Leo, Splinter, Toph, Don, Raph, Mikey, and Sokka all rushed to them.

"Aang!" Most of them said.

"This isn't happening! This isn't happening!" Sokka repeated.

"Twinkle Toes…?" Toph breathed, as she couldn't sense his heartbeat.

"Aang…" Splinter breathed as his own eyes quivered.

Katara put her hands on Aang's bleeding chest wound. "Aang please. Please wake up! Please!"

"No… this can't be." Leo breathed.

"Tell me this isn't happening." Mikey whimpered.

"I wish I could Mikey, I wish I could." Don said.

"Aang. Kid don't do this!" Raph exclaimed. "Aang.. you.. you…eh… eh… UGHHHHH!" Raph screamed in despair.

"No. Aang! AAAAAANNNGGG!" Katara screamed as she held his body and cried.

Karai saw all this and couldn't believe what she just saw, a child, her father had killed a twelve-year-old-child; Zuko had an equally shocked expression as well. Hun merely smirked at this, where as Azula's expression remained mostly neutral.

An evil laugh caught everyone's attention. This was the laugh of Shredder as he raised his claws covered in Aang's blood. He gave a laugh that would scar every single hero there.

"Shredder…" Leo growled as anger seeped in him, he clenched his fists so thigh they might even bleed.

"YOU MONSTER!" Katara shrieked at him with anger-filled-teary-eyes.

"I have known many monsters, Shredder." Splinter stated to him with equally angry eyes. "But it takes a special breed to take the life of an innocent child!"

"Ignorant fools, all those who dare oppose the Shredder are fated to perish!" Shredder stated. "But do not worry, you will all reunite with him soon enough."

Shredder, as well as Hun, Azula, and his Elite Ninja, and a few Foot soldiers, all slowly approached the group.

Toph growled as tears fell from her dull eyes as she stood with the equally rage-filled Raph. "Bring it on." They both said at the same time.

Before anything can start, a firewall separated the villains from the wounded heroes. This wall was from Iroh who jumped down to face the Foot.

"You have to get out of here! I'll hold them off for as long as I can!" Iroh told the group as he erected a firewall to separate himself from the heroes. He shoot multiple fire-fists towards the enemies.

"What are we waitig for!? Let's help him out!" Raph was about to charge but Don held him back.

"Raph we can't fight any more!" Don stated.

"We're not running from this monster!" Toph stated but Mikey held her back.

"Toph, you wanna get killed!?" Mikey questioned.

"They're right! We need to go now!" Sokka said.

"Everyone listen!" Splinter told the group. "Iroh has given us a chance to flee, we must not dishonor his brave sacrifice!"

"What about…. Aang…?" The teary-eyed Katara asked as she held his limp body.

"Splinter's right." Leo agreed. "If there's any chance we can save him, we need to leave right now!"

They all sighed and agreed as most ran towards a nearby waterfall. Leo glanced back towards Shredder. "You'll get yours Shredder. That's a promise. You'll get yours." Leo joined with the rest of the group by a waterfall.

Katara used her Waterbending to propel herself upwards with Aang in her arms. Toph erected a large platform with herself, Leo, Raph, Sokka, Mikey, Don, and Master Splinter on top as they rode along side Katara and out of the catacombs.

Once Iroh saw that everyone was safe he stopped fighting, letting the Elite Ninja come in and point all their weapons towards him. Zuko couldn't even face his uncle with what he had done. Karai looked towards Zuko and noticed the pained expression on his face. She then looked in the direction where the Turtles and the Gaang fled, but all she could do now was look down in shame.

"Foot ninja! After them!" Shredder ordered. "Do not allow them to escape!" With that, the Foot soldiers all left the catacombs in search for the wounded heroes to finish them off.

* * *

The Foot would never reach them as the heroes; Leo, Katara, Raph, Toph, Casey, Mikey, Sokka, Don, Master Splinter, The Earth King, Bosco, and Momo; all rode on top the bison and as far out of Ba-Sing-Se as possible as night had fallen.

Most we're on top of Appa's back while Leo and Katara sat with the stabbed Aang on Appa's head. Leo held Aang as Katara pulled out her vile from the North Pole. She used her Waterbending to pull out the Spirit Water, which had a glow to it. She slowly placed it on the opening in Aang's chest and let the glowing water seep into his body. At first, there was nothing. Katara cried as she held Aang's body, with Leo putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Aang's tattoos briefly glowed before he slightly groaned, catching everyone's attention. Leo and Katara looked with smiles to see a faint smile from Aang before he finally fell unconscious. Leo took of the Avatar's shirt to see that while there is a permanent scar there, the wound is closed.

"He's going to be alright." Leo told the group; causing everyone to breath a huge sigh of relief.

* * *

 _Earth King's Throne Room_

Azula sat in the throne of the Earth King, with Zuko by her side. "We've done it Zuko. It's taken a hundred years, but the Fire Nation has finally conquered Ba-Sing-Se."

"I betrayed Uncle." Zuko said, not facing his sister.

"No, he betrayed you." She told him. "Zuko, when you return home, Father will welcome you home as a war-hero."

Zuko could tell that Azula didn't know about Shredder black-mailing him earlier, which was the only reason he helped them. Leo's words rang through his head. _If you serve someone like the Shredder or the Fire Lord, then you have no honor._

"But… The Foot. Are you certain we can trust them?"

"I believe so." Azula told him. "I admit that they're… intimidating to say the least… but without there help, we could never have conquered Ba-Sing-Se."

"Got that right, princess." Hun said as he walked in with Karai, as well as Shredder. "Zuko, right?" He nodded. "Nice scar, I got one to, see?" Hun pointed to the clawed-scar on the side of his chin.

"Fire Prince Zuko." Shredder told him. "I am glad you made the right choice."

" _The right choice?"_ Karai questioned. _"Father, is any of this right?"_ Aang's body hanging from her father's claws was still fresh in her memory as she looked down.

A Foot ninja walked into the throne room and bowed to Shredder. "Master, the Turtles and there allies have escaped with the Earth King."

"Disappointing." Shredder stated. "However, we have entire kingdom in our grasp now. The Turtles are little more than annoyances at this point."

"However Master." The Ninja spoke up. "We did managed to find this after raiding their living quarters." He presented a certain staff to Shredder, which he took. He shifted it in a way so that orange wings would appear.

"What the heck is that?" Hun questioned.

"I've seen it before." Azula replied. "That's the Avatar's glider. He used his Airbending to control it."

Shredder took the moment to observe it before raising it above his head and snapping it in two with his bare hands; much to the surprise of Karai and Zuko.

"Leave the palace." Shredder ordered.

"I beg your pardon?" Azula questioned.

"I said, leave. Now!" Shredder ordered.

Azula sighed as she, Hun, Karai, the Ninja, as well as Zuko begin to walk out. Zuko shot a glare towards Shredder before walking away. Once he was alone, Shredder walked up to the throne of the Earth King.

He pulled out a small black and yellow device. He pressed a button on it, causing it to spark. Shredder then tossed it on the ground behind him as the device exploded and began to set the throne room ablaze. He turned back to the throne.

"Like the phoenix, I have risen from the ashes!" He sliced the throne, causing it to fall to pieces. He then began to walk away. "And into my fire, this world shall fall." Shredder left the throne room, intent on letting the palace burn to the ground.

* * *

The group could only look back at Ba-Sing-Se in grief as they all flew away from it.

"The Earth Kingdom has fallen." The Earth King said as the group let despair fall over them.

"It has." Leo confirmed. "But not to the Fire Nation, to someone far, far worse."

Appa flew the group past the walls and into the night as lightning flashed; despite being miles away from him, they could all still hear Shredder's evil laugh echo throughout the night sky.

 **Done.**

 **This is the biggest piece of fanfiction I have written so far in my entire career. I worked hard on this, I hope you all enjoyed this. So now you know some of the differences here from the cannon show.**

 **Zuko was blackmailed by Shredder, who threatened his loved ones if he didn't help. I got many requests to have Zuko join the heroes at this point; I wanted to do that, but I also wanted to stick close to the original, so I went for the middle ground of Zuko being forced into this. It'll make it all the more easy when he, and a certain someone else, leave the bad guys and join up with the heroes later on.**

 **I also included Toph and Sokka in the catacomb-battle because I wanted all of Team Avatar to face Shredder and understand just how much of a threat he is to there world, far greater than the Fire Nation could ever hope to be; which is also the reason I had Shredder "kill" Aang instead of Azula.**

 **More and more will happen in this story as more TMNT characters (friend and foe) begin to show up, and Team Avatar learn a bit more of the Turtles' history with Shredder.**

 **See you all soon. Thank you.**


	14. The Awakening

**Hello all. Sorry for the wait, I had a few things pop up. Anyway it's time we get started. I'd like to say a few things to you. First, expect some more TMNT (2003) characters, hero and villain alike, to show up from this point forward. Second, some things will be different from the cannon Avatar series and somethings will remain the same; you'll have to see for yourself. Third, I will not be using OCs from other fanfic writers here.**

 **Lets begin.**

 **The Awakening**

Total darkness. Avatar Aang stood in total darkness, the only light came from his glowing tattoos as the young monk was in the Avatar State; it wasn't long before he was surrounded by many enemies; Fire Nation Soldiers, Dai-Li agents, and Foot Ninja. They all leapt forward; Aang attacked with every element at his disposal. He sent blades of air, streams of fire, columns of earth, and whips of water forward in all directions. Every time an attack made contact with an enemy, the enemy vanished into thin air. The Avatar was once more surrounded in darkness as all his enemies we're now apparently gone.

The Avatar looked down to see the floor was silver, but the floor began to shake and rise and large fingers began to bend slightly, that's when the Avatar realized he was standing in the palm of someone. He looked up to the side to realize he was in the hand of the Shredder. Shredder gave an evil laugh as his red eyes pierced into the Avatar's soul.

* * *

Aang's eyes slowly opened. His vision blurred and he felt his body was in a mixture of pain and numbness, likely from being out for so long. While he failed to notice the short amount of black hair on his head, he did take into account the amount of bandages he was covered in. As he sat up and held his head he could only wonder what had happened while he was out.

"What happened?"

Aang looked around and saw he was in a metal room and could only gasp at the sight of red and black banners and a large flag with the Fire Nation insignia behind him.

"Oh no!"

"Good, I see you're awake." A female voice spoke out as the door opened. A woman entered carrying a tray of food. "I brought some…"

The woman couldn't finish her sentence as Aang sent a gust of wind forward that caused the woman to fly back to the metal wall, and she fell unconscious.

Aang tried to stand up, but his body still ached. He grabbed a metal pole nearby to support himself. He got a good look at this woman while she was out; she had red hair, tied back in a pony tail. While she did wear a red Fire Nation cloak, underneath she had a purple shirt and brown cargo pants.

Aang didn't have time to wonder who this woman was, all he knew was he had to get out. Aang slowly peered out the steel door and into the hallway, he saw it was clear and began to make his way out, while carrying a metal pole to support his still injured body.

"You hear something?"

Aang looked around the corner to see a large man, and a very short one, both clad in Fire Nation armor. He hid around the corner to avoid being seen until he sent a gust of wind forward with a swipe of his pole and began to make a run for it.

"He's awake!" The large man said as he and the shorter man began to chase the confused and injured Avatar. "Stop! Wait!"

Aang tried to make it up the stairs and onto the deck, but he tripped and fell on the metal floor, his pole sliding to an odd sight: Momo being fed by three men in Fire Nation outfits.

"Momo?" The confused Aang wondered.

The Lemur and three men, who we're revealed to be Casey Jones, Hakoda, and Bato, all turned there attention towards the Avatar as Momo ran up his shoulder and began to lick his face.

"Aang!" Leo stated as he, Toph, and Katara turned their attention towards the Avatar.

"Twinkle Toes! That's gotta be you!"

The two as well as others including the other Turtles and Master Splinter all gathered around the confused Avatar.

"Aang, you're awake!" Katara observed.

"About time." Raph stated.

"We we're all pretty worried." Don said as well.

"Guys… I feel like I'm dreaming." Aang uttered but Katara embraced him in a large hug.

"You're not dreaming, you're finally awake."

"Good to have you back kid." Casey commented as he put a hand on his shoulder.

"Welcome back bro!" Mikey exclaimed as he gave a brotherly hug as well.

"Aang! Good to see you back with the living buddy." A familiar voice in full Fire Nation armor told him.

"Sokka?" Aang uttered.

"Welcome back, Avatar." Master Splinter greeted with a bow.

"I can see our guest has fully awoken, wonderful." A new voice spoke out. Aang looked to the back of the crowd to see a large, humanoid crocodile approach him. That did it, Aang felt woozy as he began to loose his balance.

"Uh oh." Toph said. "Somebody catch him he's gonna…" Aang fell backwards, but Leo caught him by the shoulders before he hit the ground. "Faint."

"Don't worry Aang, you're safe. We're all friends here." Leo told the ailing Avatar, as the heroes sailed away onboard the stolen Fire Nation ship.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the royal Fire Nation ship; which also carried a few of the Foot Ninja, and some of their leadership, sailed back to the Fire Nation mainland. The formerly exiled Prince Zuko held the railing of the ship as he looked up towards the full moon.

"Aren't you cold?" Mai asked as she joined him.

"I've got a lot on my mind." Zuko began. "It's been so long, over three years since I was home. I wonder what's changed. I wonder how I've changed."

Mai gave a slight yawn. "I just asked if you we're cold, I didn't ask for your whole life story." She draped an arm over his shoulder and lightly took his chin. "Stop worrying." She said with a smile before she kissed him. After about a minute, she left him alone with his thoughts.

Zuko remembered the threat Shredder gave him if he didn't work with him. The threat to kill everyone he knew if he didn't help. Zuko had no choice in Ba-Sing-Se. He was wondering if he ever had a choice in his life to begin with.

"You seem troubled." Zuko looked behind him to see Karai, he simply looked away.

"I can see there is much weight on your shoulders, a burden that you have to bear." Karai observed.

"You're pretty observant, what do you want?" Zuko questioned the swordswoman.

"I do not desire anything from you." Karai assured. "I am merely asking if something is bothering you." Zuko didn't give an answer.

Karai could tell that while many individuals from the Fire Nation she had met so far may be cruel, but there was something about this prince that was different; he reminded her of herself a little. "It is alright, you do not need to tell me if you do not want to." Karai offered a hand to shake. "My name is Karai."

Zuko gave a slight smile as he shook her hand. "Zuko."

* * *

Aang was handed a cloak by Master Splinter as the rat master sat with him along with Leo and Katara, and Appa nearby.

"Why are we on a Fire Nation ship? Why is everyone dressed this way? And why am I the only one who's completely out of it?"

"Take it easy Aang." Leo told him. "You've been out for a while, a lot has happened."

"Leo's right." Katara agreed. "You we're hurt pretty badly." She gave a slight smile. "I like your hair."

Leo and Splinter gave slight grins, but Aang found himself quite shocked. "I have hair!?" He felt along his head. "How long was I out?!"

"Three weeks and five days by my calculations young one." The giant crocodiles revealed as he walked onto the scene, Aang stumbled back at the mutant's appearance.

"Aang it's alright he's friend." Leo told him.

"He is indeed, he helped to care for you during your time in rest." Splinter added. "You can trust him."

Aang took a slight breath. "Sorry for freaking out."

"No need to apologize. My unusual appearance has that affect on people. Allow me to properly introduce myself, I am Leatherhead."

Aang gave a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you Leatherhead, I'm Aang." He offered his hand, which the gentle giant shook.

"Yes young Avatar, my friends have told me much about you." Leatherhead replied, gesturing to Leo and Splinter.

"Well any friend of the Turtles is a friend of mine." Aang said, earning a smile from the mutant crocodile.

"Everything okay here?" Hakoda asked as he approached the group.

"We're fine Dad." Katara said with a slight scowl.

"I'm Hakoda." He introduced himself to Aang. "Katara and Sokka's father."

"He knows who you are, I just called you 'Dad' didn't I?" Katara interrupted, earning a few looks from Leo, Aang, and Splinter.

"I guess you're right." Hakoda said.

Aang still shook the Water Chieftain's hand. "Nice to officially meet you Chief Hakoda."

"It's an honor to meet you."

"Great, great. Now you guys have met, so would you mind giving us a little privacy?" Katara rudely asked.

"Of course." Hakoda replied, Leatherhead's hand fell on the Water Chieftain's shoulder.

"My friend, there is something I could use your help with." Leatherhead told him as the two walked off, Master Splinter joined them as well.

"Katara, what was that about?" Leo asked her as the three walked away.

"Are you mad at your Dad or something?" Aang asked as well.

"What? Not at all, why would you guys say that?" Katara asked.

Aang shrugged while Leo just looked unconvinced by her statement. Aang's side ached as he held his body.

"Take it easy there." The same woman from before told him as she walked onto the scene.

"Aang, this is a good friend of our; April O'Neill. April, this is Aang." Leo introduced.

"Oh believe me, we've met already." April tossed a slight glare to Aang as she rubbed the back of her sore head.

Aang gave a nervous chuckle as Leo and Katara looked towards him. "I thought she was Fire Nation so I… sorta… knocked her out."

Leo and Katara grimaced at that before Aang turned back to the older woman. "Sorry about that."

April gave an amused look. "Don't worry kiddo, not the worst reaction I've gotten."

"April's been helping to take care of you to." Leo told her. "That is whenever Katara wasn't."

Aang's side still ached. "Maybe we should go upstairs. You need a healing session." April and Katara helped Aang to his feet and Leo followed them behind.

* * *

The four we're back in the same room Aang had woken up. The bandages we're removed from his body and they could clearly see the two claw marks in his back of where he was stabbed.

"Broken ribs, dislocated arm, twisted ankle, some internal bleeding…" April listed Aang's injuries from Ba-Sing-Se. "It's a miracle you didn't die."

"It felt like I did." Aang whispered as Katara brought some healing water onto his back.

"Tell me where your pain feels most intense." She told him.

Aang grimaced a bit. "A little higher." Katara moved the water higher slightly towards his scar. His mind flashed back to his moment in the Avatar State in Ba-Sing-Se.

"Wow. You're definitely in the right area there."

"I can feel a lot of energy twisted up around there." Katara observed. She began to pull the water back. "Let me see if I can just…"

Aang's body arched back a bit; startling Leo, Katara, and April as his mind flashed back. Aang remembered steel claws piercing through his heart, Shredder stabbing him in the back. Aang remembered the evil in his red eyes before he came back to reality.

"Aang?" Leo asked.

"I went down! I didn't just get hurt did I? It was worse than that." Aang remembered.

"You we're stabbed right through the heart, Aang." Leo said. "That should have been a death sentence right there. But Katara healed you."

Aang looked to the Waterbender. "I just used the Spirit Water from the North Pole. I don't know what I did exactly."

"You saved me."

"Hey Katara, can I talk to you for a second." April told her, who nodded as the two girls left, leaving Aang and Leo alone.

"Leo…"

"Aang I understand you probably have a lot of questions." Leo began. "But they will be answered tomorrow, once you have regained part of your strength." Aang looked down a bit in understanding. Leo handed him a bole of soup. "Here, you need to eat."

Aang took the soup and began to eat.

* * *

Once outside Katara and April began to talk.

"You're mad at your dad." April said out of the blue.

"What? Why would you…?" Katara tried.

"I've been on this boat with you for a month; I'm not oblivious." April told her, she put a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Listen, whatever it is, maybe you shoud just go right out and say it instead of bottling it up inside. Trust me, that never works out for anyone."

Katara looked down slightly, letting April's words sink in.

* * *

 _Fire Nation capital._

It was morning in the Fire Nation. There was a massive tower that overlooked all the soldiers of the Fire Nation, who we're being addressed by the two elderly twins Lo and Li.

"You're Princess Azula, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and entered the Earth Kingdom's capital!" Lo exclaimed.

"In Ba-Sing-Se she found her brother Zuko, as well as our newest and greatest ally: The Footclan!" Li exclaimed as well. "And together; through the union of the Fire Nation and the Foot, they faced the Avatar!"

"And the Avatar fell! And the Earth Kingdom fell!" Lo and Li exclaimed at the same time.

* * *

The Nexus Portal opened as countless Foot soldiers, vehicles, and equipment left the portal and entered the world of the Four Nations, the army of the Foot met up with an army of Fire Nation soldiers. War Minister Qin of the Fire Nation, as well as a Foot Elite both met and the two shook hands.

Three Foot Elite stood at the inside of the wall in Ba-Sing-Se as several Foot ninja lined the walls with C4.

" _The agents of the Foot quickly overtook the entire city! They went to Ba-Sing-Se's great walls and brought them down!"_

One Elite ninja pressed a trigger, and the C4 detonated, brining down a massive hole in the wall surrounding the city. Armies of the Fire Nation and the Foot together overtook Ba-Sing-Se with no effort. The Fire Nation soldiers marched through the streets, while countless Foot Ninja ran across the rooftops.

" _The armies of the Fire Nation and the Foot Clan surged through the walls and swarmed over Ba-Sing-Se, securing our victory!"_

Several Fire Nation tanks surrounded the burnt down ruins of the Earth Kingdom palace, with one Foot truck at the lead. Baxter Stockman looked towards the ruins of the palace and gave an evil smile.

* * *

"Now the heroes have returned home!" Lo and Li announced.

"You're princess Azula!" Lo announced as the Fire Princess walked onto the balcony, resulting in a massive uproar of the soldiers below.

"And after three long years, you're prince has returned. Zuko!" Li announced as well as Prince Zuko joined his sister and the soldiers cheered for him, though Zuko didn't have a look of joy on his face.

"And now we welcome our newest allies; the Foot Clan!" Lo announced as Hun and Karai both walked onto the balcony. Hun had a large grin on his face, while Karai maintained a stoic look.

"Drawn quite a crowd." Hun observed.

"And finally, we welcome the master of the Foot clan." Li began to announce. "The one who aided Azula in the conquest of the Earth Kingdom, and powers shall aid us in bringing a new age to the entire world."

"Oroku Saki! The Shredder!" Lo and Li announced as Oroku Saki walked onto the balcony, a massive uproar as heard as he stepped in the middle; Hun and Azula on his right, Karai and Zuko on his left.

Saki turned to Lo with a smile. "Thank you, and if I may, I have a few choice words of my own."

Lo and Li gestured for Oroku Saki to speak as he turned his attention to the crowd below.

"Sons and daughters of the Fire Nation." Oroku Saki began. "In recent times, I have been called a hero of your world. In all modesty, I am merely a man fortunate enough to posses the means of assisting this great nation on the path of glory. My Foot soldiers and scientists will do anything and everything they can to bring the great Fire Nation up towards the top as one of the greatest and strongest empires that shall forever stand and rule this Earth!"

Oroku Saki raised his arms and all the Fire Nation soldiers cheered massively at his praise. Hun gave a knowing smirk, where as Karai looked quite conflicted.

* * *

Back on the stolen boat. Aang, Leo, Katara, Mikey, Toph, Raph, Sokka, Don, Master Splinter, Hakoda, April, Casey, Leatherhead, Bato, and several others all sat together and ate as many of them began to explain to Aang what had happened.

"After what happened in Ba-Sing-Se, we had to get you to safety." Sokka began to explain to Aang.

"We escaped to Chameleon Bay where we met up with several Water Tribe soldiers." Leo told Aang as well.

"The Earth King wanted to travel the world in disguise, so he set off alone." Don said.

"Well, not really alone, his bear Bosco went with him." Mikey added.

"It wasn't long before those Fire chumps began to swarm over Chameleon Bay." Raph said. "We we're ready to unload a gallon of fist on them, but Leo thought it be a good idea to hide instead."

"Right." Leo agreed. "We captured one ship and we're able to slip away unnoticed."

"Since then we've been traveling west." Sokka took over as he pointed to there location on a map. "We've crossed through the Serpent's Pass a few days ago."

"We did manage to make a quick stop by the Nexus point to see if we can get some allies." Don said. "That's how April and Leatherhead we're able to get to this world." Don gestured to the young woman and the mutant crocodile.

"But that's all we could get." Casey said. "There's practically a small army of Foot Ninja surrounding that entire area, and trying to sneak in and out of a place like that ain't' easy let me tell ya."

"After that we high tailed it back out of there." Mikey said. "We've seen a few Fire Nation ships here and there, but none of them have bothered us."

"So far." Don added.

"Where's my staff?" Aang asked.

"We left it behind in Ba-Sing-Se. Sorry." Leo answered, causing Aang to look down in shame.

Aang still had something to ask. "But who exactly are the Foot? And who was that guy that did this to me back in Ba-Sing-Se?"

"We don't know." Toph replied. "The guys we're waiting for you to wake up before they would tell us."

All eyes set on the Turtles as well as Master Splinter. The rat master sighed as he began. "My friends, I had hopped this day would never come. We know who these people are." He took out black cloth with a certain red symbol on it. "This is the symbol of the Foot Ninja, their leader is Oroku Saki. But he has another name, he is The Shredder."

Everyone began to listen as Master Splinter spoke. "My sons have told you of my beloved Master Yoshi, but now it is time I tell you the _whole_ truth."

* * *

 _Flashback_

Hamato Yoshi was training in his home, practicing several forms of punches and kicks.

" _My master was a ninja of great power. One of the greatest practitioners of Ninjitsu in many centuries. I was his pet rat."_

The non-mutated rat, named Splinter, practiced the same martial arts moves Yoshi was performing in his pen.

" _I learned Ninjitsu by observing and mimicking his moves. For many years, I was happy. We we're a family."_

Yoshi stopped practicing as his door was punched down by Hun, who entered with a couple Foot Ninja.

" _But that life ended when the Shredder sent his Foot Ninja to attack my master."_

Two Foot Ninja ran to him, but Yoshi jumped over both of them. One tried to land a kick on him, but Yoshi parried the kick, and parried a punch from another ninja. That same ninja was sent flying as Yoshi continued to defend himself. One ninja came from behind and put Yoshi in a lock as one ninja in front tried to attack.

Splinter saw all this and growled in his cage at the ninja trying to harm his master. Yoshi kicked the ninja in front into the cage and it broke. Splinter continued to watch while hiding in the rubble.

" _My master battled honorably."_

The second ninja was sent into a table with a vase, which broke upon impact. Yoshi made a battle stance as he stood his ground. However, Hun pulled out a device that launched two cords at him, which ensnared his right wrist. Three ninjas followed suit with the same devices; one ensnared his left wrist, another his right ankle, and finally his left ankle.

" _But through there dishonorable ways…"_ Yoshi struggled in the restraints. _"The Foot Ninja overpowered him."_ Hun pressed a button the device, sending an electric charge through the cords, painfully electrocuting Yoshi.

Splinter grimaced at Yoshi's pain, while Hun smirked at it. Yoshi fell to the ground; he was being held by the Foot Ninja who still kept him restrained in the cords.

" _Then, the Shredder entered."_

Splinter watched as the Shredder entered the room and approached his servants and the restrained Yoshi. _"They accused my master of working for there enemies."_ Shredder gestured to Hun, raising his fingers and claws, who smirked. _"They wanted information."_

Hun pressed the button again, painfully electrocuting Yoshi even further, causing him to scream and yell in total agony, while Splinter continued to observe. _"They we're relentless."_

Yoshi was thrown onto the ground. _"But my master only said one thing."_

"He who lives without honor will end without honor." Yoshi stated with a glare before collapsing on the ground.

"This is a waste of time, finish him!" Shredder ordered.

Hun drew a katana and Splinter looked in fear. _"I tried to save my master."_ Splinter ran up and jumped to Hun's face and began to scratch and claw at it. Hun fell to his knees and grabbed the rat before throwing him out the window.

" _But my efforts we're in vain, though I did leave my mark."_

Hun felt along his face, mostly the scratch mark on his right cheek from Splinter. Shredder merely scoffed as he approached Yoshi. "Bah. I will finish you myself."

Splinter looked up from the windowsill in terror. Shredder lifted his claws and brought them down on Hamato Yoshi; ending his life.

" _The Shredder had taken my Master Yoshi from me, from the world."_

Splinter fell from the window in despair and landed onto a trash bag and then a puddle. _"Not long after that I found my sons, and you all know the rest."_

* * *

 _Reality_

Splinter looked down in shame after finishing his story. Aang could only look in terror with wide eyes. Katara had a hand over her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. Sokka was speechless. Toph's dull eyes we're wide as well, with a tear coming down her left cheek. The Turtles, Leatherhead, April, and Casey, all looked down in sympathy as they've heard this story before.

"Why… why didn't you guys tell us this?" Aang asked.

"We didn't mean anything personal." Leo said. "It's just… you already had enough problems with the Fire Nation. We didn't want to add to it."

"Plus, we didn't think we had to." Don added. "We never thought the Foot would follow us here."

"Guys, honestly, how bad is our situation here?" Katara asked.

"Very bad." Mikey replied. "Scale of 1 to 10; 10,000!"

"It can't be that bad." Sokka tried.

"No, Sokka it is that bad." Raph told him. "The Fire Nation is one thing; but the Foot is a _whole_ different ballgame!"

"The Foot, Shredder especially, is a far greater threat than the Fire Lord could ever hope to be." Leo stated. "If anything, the Fire Nation are now Shredder's pawns."

"Are you serious?" Toph asked. "He's really that bad?"

"If we are to succeed in this war, you all need to know who Saki, the Shredder, really is." Splinter addressed Team Avatar and their allies. "He serves no ally; he fights with no great evil; he _is_ great evil! Any endeavor he undertakes, he does for his own selfish gain."

The whole of Team Avatar and their allies we're speechless at this; there minds questioning how someone could possibly be more evil than the current Fire Lord. Aang decided to break that silence.

"So what now?"

"We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan." Hakoda replied.

"It's _Sokka's_ invasion plan." Katara sharply corrected. April grimaced, as her talk with Katara had virtually no effect.

"Yes, Sokka's plan." Hakoda continued. "We won't be able to mount a massive invasion without the Earth King's armies, but the Solar Eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable."

"So we're planning a smaller invasion." Sokka added. "Just a rag-tag team of our friends and allies from around the Earth Kingdom, we've already ran into Pipsqueak and the Duke."

"Good to see you again Aang." Pipsqueak greeted as The Duke at on his shoulder.

"But as you can probably imagine, with the Foot being here, things are a lot more complicated now." Don stated.

"That's why we're here." April pointed out.

"Yes." Leatherhead agreed. "We have dealt with the Foot for quite some time, we know how they operate and how they think. Donatello, Ms. O'Neil and I have been working on advanced weaponry that should help even the odds."

"We'll also be making a few stops by the Nexus and gathering more of our allies from our world to help as well." Leo added.

"And the best part is, the Eclipse and the Turtles and all there friends, aren't even our biggest advantage." Sokka revealed.

"Yeah we've got a very special secret." Casey whispered.

"You." Mikey told Aang in a slightly smaller whisper.

"Me?" Aang asked, quite confused.

"Yep, the whole world thinks you're dead." Mikey revealed.

"Isn't that great!?" Sokka cheered. Leo, April, and Raph all face-palmed while Splinter gave a deep sigh.

Aang's eyes we're so wide they we're almost circular. He slowly walked to the side of the ship and put his hands on the railing. Raph raised three fingers. "Three… two… one."

"THE WORLD THINK'S I'M DEAD?!" Aang shouted at the top of his lungs. "How is that good news!? That's terrible!"

"No it's great." Sokka contradicted. "It means the Fire Nation and the Foot won't be hunting us anymore."

"And even better, neither of them will be expecting you on the Day of Black Sun." Don pointed out.

"No, no, no." Aang wasn't convinced. "You have no idea, this is so messed up!"

"Yo fellas, we got company!" Casey stated as they all heard a horn going off. They all looked to see an approaching ship.

"I'll handle this, the Avatar is back!" Aang declared as he picked up a metal rod, but he felt his aching side.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa; hold on right there mister." April told him. "What are you gonna do? Hold that stick in one hand, your IV in the other?"

"She's right Aang, you're in no shape to fight." Leo agreed.

"Plus they don't know we're not Fire Nation." Katara pointed out.

"Yeah but those guys ain't Fire Nation." Raph said as he looked in a telescope and spotted a red flag with the Foot insignia on it. "Those are Foot Ninja."

"The Foot?!" Mikey questioned.

"It would appear they've already begun to integrate themselves with the Fire Nation." Leatherhead observed.

"Yeah, lucky us." Don replied sarcastically.

Aang conceded as he withdrew. "Everyone just stay calm; Bato, Casey, and I will take care of this." Hakoda said as he and the other two men put there helmets on.

Pipsqueak had the Duke rolled up in a tarp as he tossed him over Appa and Leatherhead in a small cargo hold, the tarp concealed over the two quickly and easily. Leo, Splinter, Aang, Katara, Raph, Don, Toph, Mikey, and Sokka hid in a small hole themselves.

"I hate not being able to do anything." Aang whispered.

"Suck it up and deal kid." Raph told him.

"Hopefully we won't need to." Toph whispered in agreement.

The two ships met as a metal ramp was extended from one ship to another. Three Foot soldiers walked from one ship to the other, towards the disguised Casey, Hakoda, and Bato.

"Commander, why are you of course?" The lead ninja asked. "All Western Fire Fleet ships are supposed to be in Ba-Sing-Se to support the occupation."

"Actually we're from the… Eastern Fleet." The disguised-Casey replied. "We're delivering some cargo."

"Eastern Fleet, hmm?" The ninja questioned. "Well, nice of Admiral Chan to let us know he was sending one his ships our way." He replied with sarcasm in his voice.

"I'm sure Admiral Chan meant no disrespect." The disguised-Bato said.

"How hard is it for you Fire-guys to just send us one of your fancy hawks?" The Foot ninja still questioned.

"Next time we'll send two hawks to make sure you get the message." The disguised Hakoda stated.

"Fine, fine." The lead ninja brushed off. "Get back to your post." Hakoda, Casey, and Bato walked away while the lead ninja gave a disgusted scoff. "Fire trash."

"Sir. Fire Admiral Chan is supposed to be on vacation." One of the other ninjas informed the lead ninja

"What?" The lead ninja questioned. It dawned on him. "This is a captured ship." He whispered to the other two as they began to walk down the ramp. "Just stay quiet till we're on the other side, then we'll sink this ship."

Toph's advanced hearing picked up on it as she got up. "THEY KNOW!" She used her Metalbending to create a tremor across the ship and knock down the ramp, sending the three Foot ninja down into the water below.

Katara used her Waterbending to push the Foot's ship away as they began to sail away as fast as they could.

"Well, so much for our disguise." Don said as the chase was now on.

* * *

 _Fire Nation, Royal Garden_

Zuko sat alone in the royal garden, tossing bits and pieces of bread to the turtle-ducks in the pond. Someone approached him from behind.

"May I join you?" Karai asked. Zuko made a gesture for her to sit down, which she did next to him.

"This is quite peaceful." Karai observed.

"Yeah." Zuko replied. "This is my favorite spot out of the entire palace. My mother used to be right here with me."

Karai gave a somewhat sympathetic look towards Zuko. "So what is it that's bothering you?"

Zuko sighed. "I haven't seen my father yet since we've got back."

Karai knew what was bothering him. "You're worried you've failed him, and you haven't earned your place back yet."

Zuko didn't respond. Karai took a piece of bread herself and gave it to the turtle-ducks. Once they ate it, a shadow loomed over them and they swam away.

"Someone seems down." Azula observed to Zuko. Karai shot a glare towards the fire princess, who ignored it. "Has Mai gotten to you already Zuzu? Though actually, Mai seems to have been in a strangely good mood lately."

"Well good for Mai." Karai said. "What is it you want Azula?"

"I was speaking to my brother, not you Karai." Azula told her while the Kunoichi glared further.

"I didn't capture the Avatar." Zuko stated.

"Who cares? The Avatar's dead." Azula replied.

"Yes, we are quite aware of that." Karai spoke as she stood up to face Azula. "Now, if you would please leave. You are upsetting the mood here."

There was a bit of a stare down between the fem-fatales, before Azula merely scoffed. "Fine. I know when I'm not wanted." Azula walked away.

"I'm guessing you two aren't exactly friends." Zuko observed.

"No, we are not." Karai replied. "Is that what's been bothering you?"

Zuko looked down. Karai placed a hand on the prince's shoulder. "I'm certain there is nothing for you to worry about." Karai then left away and left Zuko alone with his thoughts.

* * *

 _Fire Nation royal palace_

Oroku Saki walked through the hallways of the palace before he came before a set of drapes which bore the Fire Nation insignia on it. This was the throne room of the Fire Lord. Oroku Saki walked through the curtains and into the flaming throne room.

"It would seem I have a visitor." Ozai greeted. "To whom do I owe the pleasure?"

"I am Oroku Saki."

Ozai gave a sinister smile. "Ah yes, the Shredder. The one who aided my daughter in the conquest of Ba-Sing-Se. To what do I owe this honor?"

"I was hopping to discus the details of our alliance. I would like to make it permanent." Oroku Saki stated.

Ozai rose from his throne and stepped down towards Saki as the two psychopaths met face-to-face.

"While I am indeed grateful for your assistance in the defeat of the Earth Kingdom, why would I allow this alliance to go further? Impress me." Ozai said.

Oroku Saki smiled. "Your majesty, my forces have acess to technology and resources well beyond anything this world has developed and will not be developed on there own for several centuries. While today the Earth Kingdom has fallen, the Water Tribes are still free and may indeed present a threat; the resources of the Foot will help in the complete and total subjugation of both these countries as well as any form of resistance within your own nation, if a rebellion we're to form."

Ozai gave a slight smile at this. "However." Saki continued. "There is still, one little issue. My forces have had to deal with certain individuals that have proven to be quite a thorn in the side of the Foot for quite some time."

"Ah yes." Ozai began. "Those Turtle-warriors my daughter has told me about."

"Indeed." Oroku Saki confirmed. "While there are only four of them, I would warn you not to underestimate them. There threat can be equal to that of the late-Avatar, perhaps even more so. I mean no disrespect, your highness, but you no little-to-nothing about the Turtles. I, however, know them quite well. Should you allow our alliance to continue, I will be more than happy to help you in slaying them, and any one else who would dare stand in our way."

Oroku Saki offered his hand to shake. Ozai stroked his beard for a moment, considering the offer. After about a minute, he came to a decision.

"Very well, I accept." Ozai shook his hand as the two madmen smiled.

"While we are on the subject of Ba-Sing-Se…" Oroku Saki began. "There is something about your son, that I wish to discuss with you."

That caught Ozai's attention.

* * *

The Foot soldiers loaded oil-drenched boulders onto catapults, which they let on fire with torches, and launched them towards the heroes' ship as it tried to escape from them.

"Toph, Leatherhead, Pipsqueak! Load up!" Leo ordered.

"You heard the man, load the Toph!" Toph exclaimed.

Leatherhead and Pipsqueak both brought large boulders to Toph, which she used her Earthbending to send flying towards the ship. A few hit the catapults, and some hit the ship. But more catapults kept firing at the heroes' ship.

As the chase continued; April, Sokka, and Aang hid inside the ship. Aang was about to go out, but both Sokka and April stopped him, both shaking their heads before Aang banged his head on a metal stick he was carrying.

The Foot ship shot a harpoon to the heroes' ship, which stuck to the haul and began to slow it down considerably. Leo saw this.

"Leatherhead!"

"I am on it!" The mutant croc dove down into the water and began to swim towards the harpoon. Once he came up to it, he bit into it and snapped the harpoon with his jaws alone. Leatherhead then began to climb back onto the ship and was helped up by Raph and Donnie.

"Katara, we're taking in water!" Don exclaimed.

She used her Waterbending to condense around the hole and freeze it, sealing up the puncture in the ship.

"Katara, give us some cover. We are too exposed out here!" Splinter told her.

"Got it." Katara then created a massive cloud of steam that completely covered both ships.

"Well… did it work?" Mikey asked.

"INCOMING!" Raph exclaimed as he tackled Toph out of the way of an incoming fireball, which hit and destroyed all the rocks.

"We just lost all our ammo!" Casey exclaimed.

This was all Aang could take at this point. "I can't just sit by and do nothing!" He ran outside, despite the dismay of Sokka and April.

"Aang wait!" Sokka called out.

April grabbed Aang by the shoulders. "What part of 'you're in no shape to fight', did you not understand?! No offense, but you'd only get in the way."

"What?!" Aang angrily questioned.

"She's right, Aang." Sokka agreed. "You're still hurt, and you have to stay secret. Just let us handle this."

"Fine!" Aang grumbled as he marched back inside.

The steam cleared as the Foot ship kept launching more fireballs at the heroes' ship. This one hit the engine. Katara quickly pulled water from the ocean to put it out.

"We can't take another hit like that!" Don exclaimed.

"How we doing?!" Toph questioned.

"Things couldn't get much worse." Sokka replied. As soon as he said that, the Serpent, from the Serpent's Pass, shot out of the water and roared at the heroes.

"Aw shell! Not this thing again!" Raph exclaimed.

"The Universe just loves proving me wrong doesn't it?"

"You make it too easy!" Toph told him.

The Serpent roared at them; the Turtles drew their weapons. "We don't have time for this!" Leo stated.

But before anything else could happen, a fireball from the Foot's ship hit the Serpent in the face, it turned it's attention to the enemy ship. It dove under the water and towards the Foot ship, when it rose, it began to coil it's body around the ship, stopping it in it's path.

Leo, Sokka, Raph, Casey, April, Don, Mikey, and Leatherhead all saw this.

"Wow. Now that was really lucky for us." Mikey observed.

"Not so much for them though." Don added.

"Thank you the Universe." Sokka thanked some unknowing deity as the heroes' ship soared away.

* * *

Some time later, the ship had docked to an Earth Kingdom port where it would receive repairs and supplies.

Aang sat alone in his room, staring straight up at the ceiling. He heard the door open and saw Master Splinter, Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey, Katara, Sokka, and Toph all walk in.

"Sup kid, how you doing?" Mikey asked him.

"Same." Aang replied as he looked down.

"Hey Aang, we're going into town to get some food." Toph told him.

"You wanna come, considering you didn't eat anything while you we're in your coma." Don added.

Aang's stomach growled quite loudly. "Well I am pretty hungry, maybe dinner's a good idea."

Sokka handed Aang a headband. "Here, tie this around your head, it'll cover your arrow."

Aang scowled. "I'm not going out if I can't wear my arrow proudly!"

"Oh geeze." Raph face-palmed. "Here we go."

"Aang come on, be practical." Sokka told him.

"Young Aang." Master Splinter began. "I understand how you must feel right now, but perhaps it is best that you protect the world within the shadows for now, at least until the Invasion comes."

Aang didn't say anything.

"You guys all go on ahead, we'll catch up." Leo told everyone. Splinter, Mikey, Sokka, Toph, and Don all walked outside.

"Hmph, looking good Aang." Raph told the kid.

"Not in the mood Raph." Aang replied harsly.

"For what?"

"I don't need to hear how badly I got my butt kicked in Ba-Sing-Se, alright?! I messed up! I let everyone down. I lost my glider!" He slammed his fist on the side of the wall.

"I wasn't gonna say anything like that." Raph told him as he began to walk out. "I was gonna say that you being even alive, even after what Shredder did, you are _very_ lucky."

Raph walked out, leaving Aang alone in the room with Katara and Leo. The red-clad Turtle joined up with Splinter, Sokka, Toph, Mikey, and Don.

* * *

"Geeze, what's Aang's problem?" Sokka asked.

"He just walked out from a fight with Shredder, very few have ever walked away alive from him before." Don said.

"Yeah, take it from us." Mikey agreed.

"Still, it's no reason for him to mope and whine like a baby." Toph pointed out.

"Yeah well, the same kind of thing happened to Leo once." Raph revealed, much to the Earthbender's and Watertribesman's shock.

"Indeed, and the result is the same here." Splinter agreed. "Young Aang has suffered injuries both physical and spiritual, he will need the support of all of us if his wounds are to fully heal."

* * *

Back inside, Katara sat down next to Aang while Leo hung back a bit.

"I think I understand why being a secret bothers you so much." Katara placed a hand on his shoulder. "You don't want people to think you failed."

"You're right, I don't." Aang replied. "But the problem is, I did fail."

"Aang stop, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault." Leo told him.

"Yes it is. I was in Ba-Sing-Se, I was there." He stood up from his bed. "But I lost, and now the Earth Kingdom has fallen for good."

"It's not for good." Katara tried. "Remember, there's still a plan, the Invasion."

"And I hate the Invasion plan to!" Aang angrily exclaimed as he pulled down the Fire Nation flag. "I don't want you or anyone else risking there lives to fix my mistakes!"

"Aang, listen to me right now." Leo told him. "Shredder thinks your dead. And that is a _good_ thing."

"How?"

"Because if he knew you we're alive, he'd stop at nothing to hunt you down." Leo stated.

"How's that any different from what the Fire Nation has been trying to do for the last 100 years?" Aang questioned.

"Because Shredder wouldn't just go for you, he'd go through everyone around you." Leo began. "He'd slaughter and butcher all your friends. Toph, Sokka, even Katara here…" Both looked in shock at Leo's statement. "He'd kill them, all to get to you."

"Are you serious?" Katara breathed. "He'd… do all that?"

"You have no idea what Shredder's like. He is pure evil." Leo confirmed.

"All the more reason for me to do this alone." Aang insisted. "I know now I need to face the Fire Lord alone, and if that involves fighting Shredder again, then fine."

"Aang, are you crazy!?" Leo questioned. "Just look at what he did to you! You barley made it out alive! You cannot defeat Shredder by yourself!"

"Watch me."

"Aang, you should listen to Leo." Katara tried. "He and his brothers know Shredder better than we do."

"Katara just go, you to Leo; both of you, just… just leave me alone."

Katara looked hurt at that, but Leo placed a hand on her shoulder. The two walked out.

"Is there anything that you need?"

"I need to redeem myself. I need my honor back."

* * *

 _Fire Nation palace_

Zuko walked through the halls of the palace and stopped just shy of the entrance to his father's throne. He took a deep breath before entering.

* * *

Katara walked towards the room of the ship with a tray of food.

"I brought you some food." But she looked to see Aang was no longer there. "Oh no." She ran out of the room as fast as she could, she bumped slightly into Leo.

"Katara…?" Leo looked to see her running down the hall. Leo looked into Aang's room to see it was empty. "Aw shell."

Aang had made a makeshift glider from the flag in his room and the long metal pole. He was using it to fly through the dark and cloudy night.

* * *

Zuko slowly approached Ozai's throne. He bowed on his knees before his father.

"You've been away for a long time, I see the weight of your travels has changed you." Ozai stood up. "You have redeemed yourself my son." Ozai slowly approached his scared son. "Welcome home."

* * *

Aang continued to fly on his makeshift glider. He felt his aching side once more and began to slowly loose altitude. He quickly regained himself and continued to fly with an angry and determined face.

* * *

Don and Leatherhead we're on the deck of the ship, along with Mikey, Master Splinter, and Raph. The two mutant geniuses had just finished making a motorboat from the materials they had.

"Done." Don stated.

"What's a motorboat gonna do to help us?" Mikey asked.

"It is quick if one wishes to get somewhere in a short amount of time, and it's small enough so it will be difficult to hit from a ship like this." Leatherhead answered.

"Great, now lets see if we can get some more high tech goodies ready for the invasion." Raph said as he rubbed his hands in anticipation.

"Guys! Guys!" Leo ran to them.

"Leo?" Mikey asked.

"Leonardo? What troubles you my son?" Master Splinter asked as Leo caught up to the group of mutants.

"He's gone, Aang's gone."

"What?!" Mikey, Don, and Raph questioned at the same time.

"Where did he go?" Leatherhead asked.

"Where do you think?" Leo questioned, pointing towards the horizon.

"Well, we are close to the Fire Nation." Don pointed out.

"Just what is that moron thinking!? Is he insane?!" Raph questioned angrily.

"Plus we got a major storm coming in!" Mikey pointed out as the saw some lightning in the distance.

"This is not good." Splinter stroked his beard. "He is letting his anger cloud his judgment."

"Guys, is the motorboat ready?" Leo asked.

"Yes it is." Leatherhead confirmed.

"Why do you…?" Don tried to ask, until he realized what Leo meant. "Wait. Leo, you're not gonna…"

Leo kicked the boat off the side of the ship and jumped down into it.

"Leo, what the shell are you doing!?" Raph questioned.

"I'm gonna find Aang!" Leo called up to them. "I don't care how stupid he is, or if he is the Avatar; I'm not leaving him out to die in this storm!" Leo revved up the boat and shot out into the distance. "Course that storm is gonna be the least of your problems when I get a hold of you, Aang."

* * *

Katara ran out onto the observation deck where Hakoda and Bato were. She had tears in her eyes.

"I'll leave you two alone." Bato said as he walked inside and left Hakoda with his daughter.

"What's wrong, Katara?"

"He left."

"What?"

"Aang." Katara began. "He just took off and disappeared." She explained with her voice cracking. "He has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world all on his own, that its all his responsibility!"

"Maybe that's his way of being brave." Hakoda guessed.

"It's _not_ brave!" Katara snapped. "It's selfish and stupid! We could be helping him! And I know the world needs him, but doesn't he realize how much we need him to?! How could he just leave us behind!?"

That's when Hakoda realized it. "You're talking about me to, aren't you?"

"How could you leave us, Dad?" Katara questioned as she cried. "I mean I know we had Gran-Gran and she loved us, but… but we we're just so lost without you." She placed her hands on her face as she cried.

Hakoda placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry Katara."

She latched onto her father and cried in his chest and he embraced her back. "I understand why you left, I really do. And I know that you had to go… so why do I still feel this way!? I'm so sad and angry, and hurt."

"I love you more than anything. You and your brother are my entire world. I thought about you every day I was gone, and every night I would lie awake missing you so much it would ache."

* * *

Zuko remained bowed as his father paced around him.

"I am proud of your, Prince Zuko." Ozai began. "I am proud that you and your sister found our new allies; The Shredder and his forces, the Foot. I am proud that all of you worked together to conquer Ba-Sing-Se."

Zuko looked somewhat pained, still remembering Shredder's blackmail attempt, but he hid it carefully from his father.

"I am proud that when your loyalty was tested, by your treacherous Uncle, you did the right thing and captured the traitor." Ozai continued. "And I am proudest of all, of your most legendary accomplishment: you slayed the Avatar."

Zuko hid the surprised look on his face. "What did you here?"

"Shredder told me everything." Ozai told his son. "He told me how he was impressed with your strength, power, and ferocity, at the moment of truth."

Zuko had a suspicious look on his face, which Ozai failed to notice.

* * *

Aang continued to fly through the night, just above the ocean surface. Fatigue was getting to him, and his makeshift glider wasn't holding out so much. He soon spotted something that made things even more complicated.

"A blockade!"

Aang used his Airbending to inhale a large amount of oxygen. He held his breath and dove under the water, using both Airbending and Waterbending to propel himself like a torpedo underneath the blockade. Once he was far enough he came up to the water's surface and regained his breath. He was now in Fire Nation waters.

He took a look at his makeshift glider. He was certain it wasn't going to fly anymore, he needed another option. Aang swam to a piece of driftwood, and that's when he got an idea.

Aang had now created a raft and begun to sail through enemy waters. The storm soon hit and it certainly didn't make things any more easy.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se_

The debris of the burnt remains of the Earth King's palace we're being plowed away from the surface by multiple construction units. Down below in the catacombs; at least a hundred foot technicians began to set up laboratory equipment. They just got the generator working and had two labs being built in progress; a technologies lab and another genetics lab, identical to the one they previously used underground.

Stockman entered the genetics' lab. He could see multiple screens come on as they now had power; the Foot symbol appeared on a screen.

"Sir, Dr. Stockman, if I may." A technician approached the mad scientist. "Why do we need a genetics lab here?"

"Two reasons." Stockman informed his subordinate. "The first is because I am very fascinated by this world's bending and I would love to learn more. I'm sure the Fire Nation's prisons have many 'volunteers' for us to use."

"What is the second reason?" The technician asked.

Stockman took out a brief case and opened it to reveal four viles containing blood samples. "These are DNA samples we've 'acquired' from our Turtle-friends. From these samples, as well as our genetics division, I will create creatures that will finally rid us of those bothersome reptiles!"

"Sir. Sir!" Another technician approached. "We have Dr. Chaplin on the line." He handed Stockman a communication's device.

"What is it Chaplin?" Stockman asked as he rolled his eyes.

" _Oh, Dr. Stockman, sir!"_ Chaplin spoke on the other line. _"We're about to bring in the Master's mystic temple here in the catacombs. This is just so awesome!"_

Stockman scoffed. "Right, awesome. Mystic nonsense." He rattled.

* * *

Dr. Chaplin, a young and eager scientist in his early 20s, on the Foot's payroll, entered a small crystal chamber within the catacombs, which was the same one Katara and Zuko we're both imprisoned. Chaplin had red hair, glasses, and a white lab coat on.

"This is perfect!" Chaplin observed the chamber. "Alright, bring it in!"

Two Foot-technicians wheeled in a steel box. Chaplin opened it and took out the one item inside. A turquoise gem, with a gold handle surrounding it, and a symbol at the bottom that looked like an upside down Foot symbol on it. This was the mystic artifact: The Heart of Tengu.

Chaplin took the Heart of Tengu in his hands. "Man, this thing is so cool." The young scientist said. Soon the artifact began to glow brightly. It left his hand and flew to the very center of the chamber. Once it did, there was a large and bright explosion of light that forced Chaplin and the two technicians to cover their eyes. Once they opened there eyes, they could not believe what they saw.

The entire room had been changed. It was now a massive chamber completely made of blue stone, and some pieces of stone hovered in the air as if they we're being hung by some unforeseen force. Some minor fog fell all over the chamber as there was a staircase leading to a massive shrine. On the stairs we're five statues of ninja garbed in ancient Japanese armor, with symbols below them that each represented one of the elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, and Metal.

"Awesome!" Chaplin explained before going back on the phone. "Dr Stockman! The temple has been restored here! You should have seen it! It was all… woosh! And it all just…"

" _Yes, yes, I'm sure it was quite exciting. Now get to work on those laboratories!"_

"Oh yes sir!" The still-enthusiastic-Scientist replied as he left the chamber to continue working.

* * *

"Pompous newbie." Stockman uttered as he hung up. The screen behind him shifted as Oroku Saki's face appeared on it.

" _Progress report."_ Saki ordered.

Stockman quickly straightened up to face the screen. "Master! Oh uh… the labs have been set up, we have power. And Dr. Chaplin has just informed me that the Mystic Shrine is now active within the catacombs of this city."

" _Excellent."_ Oroku Saki replied. _"Continue working, and keep me informed of any new developments."_

The screen cut off and the Foot technicians began to work.

* * *

 _Fire Nation_

In a small chamber just outside the main Fire Nation palace; the Foot had now set up there headquarters. It bore an equal resemblance to Shredder's main chamber in his New York tower. The Foot Ninja have finished construction as a Foot flag was draped on the back of the wall.

"Master, we are finished." Hun informed as he, Karai, and several Foot Ninja bowed before Oroku Saki, who sat cross-legged on his flat throne.

"And once more father; nearly all our forces, both combat and science-divisions, have crossed over to this world. They have brought all our weapons and resources, including all the Utrom technology that we have been able to salvage."

"Excellent. Everything proceeds as planned." Oroku Saki stated with a slight grin.

"Wait! You can't come in without permission!"

All eyes turned to the front entrance where two Foot ninja blocked the path of Fire Prince Zuko.

"I need to speak to your master, let me through!"

Hun was the first to approach the prince. "You got some nerve you scar-faced, fire-breathing freak; coming in here and demanding the master's presence."

"Out of my way, you muscle-bound morron." Zuko told him, not remotely fazed by Hun's size.

"What did you call me?!"

"Hun, stand aside." Saki ordered.

"But…"

"That's an order. Let him through."

Hun gave a submissive nod. "Yes, Master Shredder." Hun and the Foot Ninja let Zuko in as he walked up towards Shredder.

"Why did you tell him that?" Zuko demanded to Oroku Saki.

"You'll have to be more specific than that."

"Why did you tell my father I was the one who killed the Avatar?!" Zuko demanded.

That caught Karai by surprise. _"What?"_

Oroku Saki bore an amused smile as he stood up. "You recall, I told you back in Ba-Sing-Se that if you helped me in the conquest of that city, you would be so rewarded. Well, consider this your reward."

"You could have told him, you did it." Zuko said.

"I could have, but I choose not to. I decided to let you have the credit for that." Saki walked down past Zuko a bit.

"What do you want from me?" Zuko questioned.

"I do not desire anything from you, young prince." Saki replied as he looked towards a flag that bore a symbol of the Foot. "This was merely, a gift."

"If you're up to something…" Zuko tried.

Saki turned back to Zuko with an amused smile still present. "What would I have to gain from telling your father a small bluff. Unless of course, there is something you wish to tell me?"

Zuko remained silent for about a minute as he recalled Katara once telling him about the Spirit Water she had from the North Pole and the 'special properties' it had. He finally spoke.

"No. There's nothing, absolutely, nothing."

Saki's smile still remained. "Well then, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. Now, if you'll excuse me, Fire Nation Prince Zuko, I have business to attend to."

Zuko walked out of the chambers. Karai followed close behind him. Once outside, Karai slowly approached Zuko.

"What do you want?" He demanded sharply.

"I did not know of this." Karai began. "I was not aware my father told your father this."

"Father?" Zuko questioned out of surprise. "Shredder is your father!?"

Karai nodded. "He is indeed."

Zuko began to slowly walk away. "Zuko." Karai spoke to him. "I understand there are a lot of things that weigh heavy on you, but if there is something you need, you can talk to me, and I will listen. I promise."

Zuko stood still for a few minutes. "Thank you." He then walked away.

* * *

Back inside the chamber; Hun spoke with his master.

"There is something that kid is hiding."

"Indeed." Oroku Saki agreed. "Which is why I will be keeping a very close eye on him."

Oroku Saki turned to the right towards two Foot ninja, these ninja we're different from the others. They wore dark blue sits with orange goggles. These we're Foot-Tech Ninja.

"I want you two to follow Prince Zuko wherever he goes." Oroku Saki told them. "Make sure he does not see you, once you find what he is hiding, report back to me."

The Foot-Tech Ninjas both bowed before pressing there Foot symbols and turning invisible. Leaving behind a smirking Oroku Saki as he drank some sake.

* * *

The storm continued to rage; lightning struck everywhere, the water surged with waves in all directions, and the wind was deadly. Aang was stuck on the driftwood, having just lost his makeshift glider to the wind. He yelled as the elements we're all against him.

Aang screamed as a large wave enveloped him, sending him underwater, along with the piece of driftwood. The wood floated to the surface just as Aang got back up. He regained his breath as he held onto the wood.

"I'm not gonna make it, I failed."

There was a brief surge of thunder before a blue and transparent spirit appeared before him, this one bearing the appearance of his predecessor as Avatar.

"Roku?"

"You haven't failed, Aang."

"But everyone thinks I'm dead again." Aang said grimly. "They think I've abandoned them, and I'm loosing this war. I'm letting the whole world down."

"If anyone is to blame for the state of the world, it is me." Roku began. "I should have seen this war coming, and prevented it. You inherited my problems, and my mistakes. But I believe you are destined to redeem me, and save the world."

Aang wasn't convinced. "It's not just the Fire Nation anymore. Shredder… I can't beat him. He's… unstoppable."

"No, he is not." A new voice spoke out.

Aang looked behind him to see a new spirit approaching. This one made of gold fire as a man with dark brown hair and a blue ninja-like suit approached the Avatar, walking on the water itself.

"Who… who are you?" The confused Avatar asked.

"I am Hamato Yoshi, young Avatar."

"Splinter's master?"

"Yes." Yoshi confirmed. "It would seem that you have also inherited my own problem as well."

"But I cannot fight Shredder." Aang stated. "I tried and look where it got me. You tried, and you died for it."

"That may be true, young warrior." Yoshi began. "And while it is true the Shredder's threat is beyond imagining, far greater than even the Fire Nation could ever conceive, it is not only your world that is in danger, but all of them. With the Nexus at Shredder's disposal, he has access to all the worlds that it connects to. But it is not hopeless. You do not face the Shredder alone, you have others that will stand by your side that have faced Shredder before, and have defeated him in the past."

Aang realized it. "The Turtles, Master Splinter."

"Indeed." Yoshi replied. "If you are to defeat the Shredder, it will be with them beside you. Together, you will all save this world, and the others as well. You cannot give up. A true warrior never admits defeat, not in the face of the enemy."

Aang took all these words to heart. "You're right. I won't give up."

"Rest, Avatar Aang." Yoshi told him. "Rest, your friends are closer than you think."

Aang's eyes closed as he let his fatigue take him. He saw Yoshi's spirit fade and a green, three-fingered hand reaching towards him.

* * *

 _The next morning._

Aang laid flat on a crescent-shaped, volcano island. He groaned as he slowly woke up and held his aching head.

"About time you woke up."

Aang looked to see Leo sitting on a rock a few feet away from him, with the motorboat he used on the rocky beach. "Leo? You… pulled me out?"

"Yeah, I did." Leo told him. Aang then had a surge of guilt going through him.

"I'm sorry. I… I ran away. I just…"

"Forget it." Leo said with a grin. "I've done my fair share of sneaking out to. So don't worry. And before you go on about me risking my life to get you, don't; that's what brothers are for."

Aang gave a slight smile. "And besides." Leo continued. "It looks like we've got company."

They both looked to see Appa land on the beach. Katara immediately got off and ran towards them; with Sokka, Raph, Toph, Mikey, and Don right behind her. Katara embraced Aang with all her might.

"You're okay!" He let himself fall in her arms. Sokka and Toph followed suit. The Turtles surrounded them and just smiled, even Raph with his arms-crossed.

"You really had us worried there." Don told Aang.

"Don't give us heart-attacks like that." Mikey stated.

Raph gave Aang a light smack on the head. "Ow."

"That was for ditching out on us." Raph told him.

"Well, I guess I deserved that." Aang admitted.

"True." Raph agreed with a grin. "But, you pull a stunt like that again, Shredder is gonna be the _least_ of your worries!"

"Yes sir." Aang replied. "I have so much to do."

"I know, but you'll have our help." Katara said.

"All our help." Leo agreed.

"No way, are you getting rid of us that easily." Mikey said.

"You didn't think you'd get out of training just by coming to the Fire Nation, did you?" Toph jokingly questioned.

"What about the invasion?" Aang asked.

"We'll meet up with my Dad, Master Splinter, and the others on the Day of the Eclipse." Sokka informed.

"We already have a rendezvous spot and time set." Don added. "We'll have to cross through most of the Fire Nation to get through there though."

"It certainly won't be easy." Aang said.

"If something could be done easily, it probably ain't worth it." Raph told him.

"What about Shredder? Can we beat him?" Aang asked.

"Yes." Leo told him with confidence evidence in his voice. "Shredder's tough and vicious, but he's not invincible. We'll face him again, likely during the Invasion. If that happens, you'll leave him to us; just keep your focus on the Fire Lord."

"Got it." Aang replied. "It's also best I stay hidden, no one knows I'm alive."

"Not yet at least." Raph said.

"Come on, we got a lot of ground to cover." Leo told everyone as they all mounted on Appa and began their journey through the Fire Nation.

 **Done. I hope you like this chapter. Shredder has something very special planned for the Fire Nation and the rest of the world, you'll see what it is soon, no spoilers.**

 **We will be seeing some minor differences here and there for this part of the story as we slowly make our way to the Day of Black Sun. I'll see you all then.**


	15. Headband and Robes

**Hello all. Sorry once again for the wait. I have school starting back up for me, as well as a part-time job and cross country, so it will be difficult to find time to update my stories, plus I do have others I need to work on as well, not just this one. Anyway, let us begin.**

 **Headband and Robes**

It was the dead of night in the Royal City of the Fire Nation. Within the royal palace, Zuko tossed and turned in his bed repeatedly as it was almost impossible for him to get some sleep. He soon got up out of bed and took a hooded robe off a nearby coat-rack.

The hooded Zuko slowly walked up from the Royal City, up a long stone incline to a large building that served as the Royal Prison. He stopped just shy of the main gate and looked up towards one of the upper-level cell windows. A Fire Nation guard patrolling the outside balcony happened to spot the hooded individual.

"Who's there?!"

The disguised prince said nothing as he turned around and walked away. The guard paid no mind as he went back to his patrol.

However, what neither of them noticed we're two invisible Foot-Tech ninjas, who briefly turned visible as they we're perched on a nearby ledge. They looked in the direction Zuko was walking before turning invisible again and continuing to follow and observe him.

* * *

 _The Next Morning_

The sun was just rising as a cloud flew over a patch of very small islands. It came close to the largest of the tiny islands.

"I think I see a cave below." Aang's voice spoke out from the cloud

"Alright, let's check it out." Leo's voice ordered from the cloud as well.

"Sshh! Keep quiet!" Sokka shushed.

The cloud descend to the mouth of the cave before it dissipated from an air-wave from Aang, revealing it to be the cover for Appa and his passengers of Aang, Leo, Katara, Don, Toph, Raph, Mikey, and Sokka.

Sokka was the first to get off and sneak up behind a large rock as though he we're sneaking around a high-security prison.

"Great job with the cloud-camo, but next time lets disguise ourselves as the kind of cloud that keeps its mouth shut." Sokka stated.

"Dude, chill. There's nobody here. Right Toph?" Mikey asked the Earthbender.

"Right, no one is here but us." Toph confirmed.

"Yeah, it's not like a bird is gonna try and arrest us or anything." Don stated.

"Hey! We're in enemy territory! Those are enemy birds." Sokka pointed to a pelican-like bird on the rock above him.

"And you, are a paranoid nut-case." Raph cracked to Sokka, just as one of the birds hopped onto Sokka's head and squawked. While Sokka scowled, everyone snickered both at Raph's joke and Sokka's misfortune.

The group then procedded to walk towards the cave, but Sokka dived in front of them and scurried along the ground towards the cave. Raph rolled his eyes at that.

"You sure you're related to him?" The red-clad turtle asked Katara.

"Sometimes I doubt that myself." She replied.

The group entered the cave. "Well, it's roomy." Don observed.

"Well this is it." Sokka began. "This is how we'll be living till the Invasion begins. Hiding in cave after cave…" Sokka became more depressed as he went on. "After cave… after cave." He hung his head down.

"It's not so bad." Mikey pointed out. "Compared to living in the sewers for fifteen years, this is practically paradise. At least we get fresh air."

"But we don't need to become cave people, or _sewer_ people either." Katara pointed out.

"She's right." Don agreed. "It's time for the Ninjitsu art of Disguise."

"Yeah, blending in is better than hiding out." Aang pointed out. "If we all get Fire Nation disguises, we'll be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave."

"So long as we don't try to stand out in towns or cities, we should be all set." Leo agreed as well.

"Plus, they have real food out there." Toph stated as she sat on the ground, legs crossed. "Does anyone wanna sit in the dirt and eat cave hoppers?"

"I sure as hell don't." Raph said as he leaned against the wall, kicking it, causing several cave-hoppers to come out. Momo zipped by and grabbed one, quickly eating it, earning disgusted looks from most of the group.

"Looks like we got out-voted sport." Sokka said to Momo before turning to the group. "Lets get some new clothes."

* * *

The group was now hidden near a small house with several clothes hanging on laundry lines over steam-vents.

"I don't know about this." Aang whisperd. "These clothes belong to somebody."

"Man up, will ya?" Raph lightly scolded.

"He's right Aang, sometimes you gotta bend the rules a little." Leo said to the young Avatar.

"I call the silk robe!" Katara stated as she ran forward.

"I got the dark red one!" Mikey stated as well, running behind Katara.

"They seem alright with it." Don observed.

"Well… if it's essential to our survival… then I call the suit!" Aang stated as he went forward.

"That was a quick turn-around." Raph observed as everyone else ran forward.

The group began to snag and snatch many clothes from the laundry lines. Katara ran and snagged two pieces of clothing; Aang and Toph did the same as well. Leo, Raph, and Donnie quickly snatched long red pieces of clothing, leaving only a pink one for Mikey. Sokka went through many pieces of clothing either finding one that would fit him, or be the most fashionable.

Once they had what they needed, the group had begun putting on their disguises. Leo, Raph, and Donnie each wore long, red, hooded robes that completely covered their bodies. Aang put on a black and red uniform-like attire. Sokka had a red-brown set of clothes, with Toph having a dark red variety with golden stripes. Aang finished tying the headband around his head to conceal his arrow.

"Ta-da! Normal kid!" Aang stated.

Mikey held up a long pink hooded robe. "I can't wear this! I can't!" Aang and Sokka both snickered at Mikey's choice.

"Why not? It should fit just fine." Don pointed out.

"It's a girl-color! Men don't wear pink!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Mikey, there's food out there. Lots of real food." Leo told him. "Maybe even a Fire Nation pizza."

Mikey smiled. He put the robe on. "You guys owe me big time for this!"

Toph felt around with her feet. "Hmm. I should probably wear shoes, but I won't be able to see as well."

"Then just take the soles off." Raph told her.

"Hey, good idea!" Toph then held up her right foot. "Sorry shoes." She kicked the sole off and sent it flying right into Sokka's face.

The Turtles, Raph especially, snickered at that as the sole fell of Sokka's face, leaving a pink impression and an irritated expression.

"Finally! A stylish shoe for the blind Earthbender." Toph stated.

"How do I look?" Katara asked as the group saw what she was wearing. A red silk robe, with her hair more loosened. A certain Airbender found it quite attractive as he rubbed the back of his head and blushed. Leo smirked at that.

Aang soon noticed something. "Uh… you're mom's necklace."

Katara realized what he meant as her expression dimmed. "Oh… oh yeah. I guess it's pretty obviously Water Tribe, isn't it?"

She took off her necklace for the first time as most of the Turtles had sympathetic expressions on their faces. Leo put a hand on Katara's shoulder as she put her necklace away.

* * *

In a small Fire Nation town, the group was hidden in an alleyway as Katara placed a red necklace on, Toph put on a gold hairpiece, and Sokka tied his hair back in a pony-tail with a red tie. Aang hid Momo in his shirt, which Raph found questionable.

"I used to visit my friend Kuzon here a hundred years ago." Aang began to explain. "So everyone just follow my lead and stay cool, or as they say in the Fire Nation, stay flammin."

Aang was about to walk out, but Leo stopped him. "Uh…how long ago did you say its been since you've been here?"

"A hundred years."

"Yeah, a whole century." Raph pointed out. "Call me crazy, but you don't think things have changed here at all within that time period?"

"Why would it?" Aang asked.

"Well, normally things don't stay the same for an entire century." Don agreed.

"Yeah, the slang in our world changes every decade or so. So I think that whole 'stay flammin' thing is a bit out of date." Mikey pointed out.

"So what do we do then?" Aang questioned as he realized the points they we're all making.

"Lets just walk and not talk to anyone." Leo stated out. "Just keep quiet and don't speak unless spoken to. Try not to draw attention to ourselves."

The group then began to walk out into town. They did as Leo instructed, they didn't say anything to anyone. Though most of the group did look around to observe the town and all the people. No one really approached the group or even noticed them, they we're blending in perfectly.

"So this is the Fire Nation?" Mikey asked. "I was expecting something a bit more… firey."

"What the whole place would be on fire?" Toph questioned.

"Well yeah. Kinda." Mikey replied.

"I don't think they'd go _that_ far." Don pointed out.

There was a loud stomach growl that came from Mikey, which caught the group's attention as they stared at him awkwardly.

"Sorry."

"Maybe we should find a place to stock up on some food, since we're going to be on the move for the next few weeks till the invasion." Leo suggested.

"Yeah, good idea." Katara agreed.

"Hey, there's a spot!" Sokka pointed out. "Come on!"

The group was now in front of a food place as it showed certain meats on sticks in a windowsill.

"Oh, we're going to a meat place?" Aang questioned, disapprovingly.

"Sokka, you do know Aang's a vegetarian, right?" Leo reminded.

"Come on guys." Sokka began. "Everyone here eats meat, even the meat." He gestured to a large cow-like creature as it ate some rotten meat and burped; this earned disgusted looks from everyone except Sokka.

"Okay… that's just wrong." Raph pointed out.

"You guys go ahead, I'll just get some lettuce out of the garbage." Aang stated as the whole group went in save for Leo and Aang.

Leo reached into his robe and pulled out a red apple. "Here's some fruit. But that's all we have until we get some more."

"Thanks Leo." Aang gratefully took the apple and bit a chunk out of it.

The two turned around and we're intending on heading back towards their camp, before they did, they heard someone calling out in that direction.

"Hey you!"

They turned around to see what looks like three Fire Nation soldiers, Leo mentally guessed they we're some form of military police.

"It's over. We caught you." The head guard said directly to Aang.

" _Aw shell."_ Leo whispered as he quietly reached into his robe and held onto a concealed katana.

"Who?! Me?!" Aang questioned.

"It couldn't be more obvious that you don't belong here." The guard pointed out.

Leo held his hidden katana tightly, ready to strike and pull Aang out quickly if things go south. But he did not expect the next words that would come out of the guard's mouth.

"Next time you play hooky, you might wanna take of your school-uniform." The guard stated.

" _Wait, what?"_ Leo mentally questioned as he looked in surprise.

Aang looked at his outfit before he laughed awkwardly. The guards then dragged him away, leaving Leo to look somewhat dumbfounded at what just happened.

"Well this can't be good." Leo said to himself as he quietly followed them.

* * *

Leo had quietly ran across the rooftops of the school Aang was being dragged into. No one noticed him, and probably wouldn't, seeing as he was a master at stealth. He saw through the window into a classroom as he slid down a ridge. Leo was at the right angle that he could look into the room, but no one could see him.

Aang was brought into the classroom by two guards. All the students looked at him in surprise, while the teacher got up to make a comment.

"Oh? Is this a new mind ready for molding?" The teacher asked, while one guard nodded to her question.

"That's right, let the molding begin." Aang knocked on his head.

"Wait a minute." The teacher suddenly said, getting the guards' attention, as well as Leo's. "You're not from the Fire Nation!" Aang looked nervously, while Leo looked serious, as he prepared himself to quickly pull Aang out. "Clearly you're from the colonies."

Aang then tried to get this in his favor. "Yeah. The colonies, of course. The Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom." The guards left, convinced by this. Leo relaxed a bit as he quietly sighed in relief.

"You're etiquette is terrible." The teacher began. "In the homeland, we bow to our elders. Like so." She made a demonstrated bow, by placing her fist just below her palm and bowing.

"Sorry ma'am." Aang tried to make his own bow.

Leo observed all this. This could either be really good for them, or it could eventually turn into a major disaster. Knowing the luck of him and his brothers, and the luck with Aang's group; odds are that it would be the later. So he opted to keep an eye on Aang and be on stand-by in case things would take a turn for the worse. He continued to observe as the teacher spoke again.

"And we don't wear head-coverings indoors." The teacher told Aang. Leo grimaced a bit at that.

"Uh… I have a scar, it's really embarrassing." Aang tried, and the teacher seemed to buy it.

"Very well, what is your name? Or should we just call you 'manerless-colony-slob'?"

"Just 'Slob' is fine. Or… uh… Kuzon."

* * *

The day had finally ended. The final bell rang as the kids we're let out into the courtyard. Aang heard a whisper and looked in the rightmost direction into an alleyway, and he saw Leo in the shadows waving for him to come. Aang did as he went in to face the hooded-turtle.

"This was way too close. We need to go." Leo told Aang.

"Not yet." Aang tried.

"Not yet?" Leo questioned.

"I made it through the day, didn't I? And it was kinda fun."

"Not my idea of fun." Leo stated. "You know what would happen if these guys find out who you are?"

"Yeah I know, the day's over so there's nothing to worry about." Aang told him with a cheery smile as he walked out. Leo just sighed as he shook his head.

Aang looked into his robe to the still-hidden Momo. "Don't worry about him Momo."

"Don't let the head-master catch you with that monkey." A girl spoke out towards Aang from behind. Leo grimaced once again, his fifth time today.

Aang tried to act innocent. "Uh... what monkey?"

"Don't worry, I'm not a tattle-tail, my name's Anji. I like you're headband by the way."

The still-hidden-Leo looked relieved where as Aang smiled. An older boy walked past Aang and bumped his shoulder.

"Anji, you don't have to babysit the new kid." The older boy, Hide, stated as he put an arm around Anji's shoulder.

Aang made a friendly bow. "You must be one of those popular kids I've been hearing about."

"That's right." Hide began in a snarky way. "Now listen _friend,_ I know you're from the colonies, so I'll say this slowly. "Anji. Is. My. Girlfriend. Don't forget it!"

While Aang seemed oblivious to the hostility from this boy, Leo looked with concern as this boy could present trouble. He walked away with his so-called 'girlfriend', though Aang still maintained his friendly demeanor.

"It was nice meeting you."

Leo shook his head. Aang was too naïve and innocent for his own good.

Another student walked up towards Aang with a surprised look on his face. "I don't believe it, he didn't beat you up, not even a little."

A few other kids came up. "We we're on our way to play Hide-and-Explode. You wanna come?"

"I'd love to!" Aang exclaimed with a wide smile as he followed them. Leo gave a long deep sigh. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

 _Later that evening._

Leo and Aang slid down the side of the cave all their friends we're staying in, and entered.

"Well, look who's back." Don observed as he saw Leo take off his hood and Aang walk in next to him, covered with soot.

"Where have you guys been? We've been worried sick!" Katara stated.

"Ask him." Leo pointed his thumb towards Aang as he took off his headband.

"I got invited to play with some kids after school."

Mikey, Sokka, and even Raph all shot up at that. "After WHAT?!" They all said at the same time.

"I enrolled in a Fire Nation school." Aang explained. "And I'm going back tomorrow."

"Enrolled in WHAT?!" Mikey, Sokka, and Raph questioned simultaneously before Sokka and Mikey fell back, and Raph face-palmed.

Katara, Don, and Toph looked to Leo who only said one thing. "Don't ask."

* * *

 _Royal Prison_

A certain robed and hooded man walked through the halls of the prison. A guard noticed his presence and pointed his spear towards him.

"You again?! Stop where you are!"

The prince raised his head so the guard could see his face.

"Prince Zuko?"

Zuko grabbed the guard by the collar of his shirt, and with one arm, pinned him to the wall.

"I'm going in for a visit. You're going to stand guard here, and no one is going to know about this. Especially any Foot soldiers."

Zuko let the guard go and walked towards his destination. He opened the door to a cell that contained the individual Zuko had intended to see.

"Uncle… it's me." Zuko lowered his hood. Iroh turned around, not facing his nephew.

* * *

 _Back in the cave_

Leo and Aang had explained the situation to the rest of the group.

"Okay, I have a question." Raph began. "Are you nuts?!"

"It was his idea." Leo pointed to Aang. "I don't like it either, and I'd pull him out of that place now if it we're solely up to me."

"For once I agree with Raph, Aang. Your idea sounds really terrible." Sokka added.

"Not quite the best plan I've heard of either." Don agreed.

"Yeah, we got our outfits, what do you need to go to school for?" Toph questioned.

"And who actually _wants_ to go to school?" Mikey questioned as well. "That place stinks."

"Every minute I'm in that class room, I'm learning new things about the Fire Nation." Aang explained.

"As much as I strongly dislike this whole plan, it does help us give us some up-to-date information on this country." Leo pointed out.

"Yeah, I even have a picture of Fire Lord Ozai." Aang pulled out a painting of the aforementioned tyrant. "And here's one I made out of noodles!" He pulled out said noodle-painting.

"Noodle-painting of a psychopath you're supposed to fight?" Raph questioned. "Sometimes twinkle-toes, I worry about your mental health."

"This is _way_ too dangerous." Don stated.

"Yeah, I agree. If the smartest turtle here says there's something wrong with a plan, then you know it's bad." Sokka agreed.

"I guess we'll never find out about the secret river then." Aang flashed a mischievous smile. "It goes right to the Fire Lord's palace. We we're supposed to learn about in class tomorrow…"

"Aang there's no…" Leo tried, but Aang blew a slight air-blast to knock him back.

Sokka thought for a minute. "Hmmm, I am a fan of secret rivers. Fine, we'll stay a few more days."

Most of the group, particularly Raph and Mikey, groaned, in stark-contrast to Aang's cheerful response. "Flamey-o Hotman!" He cheered before running off.

"There's no secret river, is there?" Don asked Leo as he got back up.

"No there isn't. You've just been conned Sokka." The blue-clad turtle pointed out, causing Sokka's eyes to widen before he face-palmed.

"Well, what is the run down with that school?" Raph questioned.

"It's basically a military academy." Leo began. "Their molding kids into stiff soldiers, just no weapons as of yet. That place is strict and Aang is practically a time-bomb in that whole place."

"Then why are we letting him attend there?" Katara questioned.

"Like I said before, it gives us some up-to-date info on the Fire Nation." Leo stated. "Look, I don't like this either, that's why I'm there. If things go south, I'll pull him out and we'll leave."

"Katara, you're boyfriend's a real trouble-maker." Mikey told the Waterbender.

Katara blushed. "He's not my boyfriend! And he's not a troublemaker!"

"This is on you, bro." Raph told Leo.

"I know. Believe me, I do." Leo responded.

* * *

 _Royal Prison_

"Uncle…" Zuko began. "I just thought you should know… Shredder is bringing in more of his forces here from his world. The Foot are flooding into Ba-Sing-Se as well as the capital here. I don't trust them, I don't know what there up to, but it can't be good."

Iroh said nothing.

"I did I had to do in Ba-Sing-Se, only because I had no other choice." Zuko continued. "None of us did."

The fallen Dragon of the West remained silent.

"You're not going to say anything?" When Zuko didn't get a response, he kicked a chair up with his foot and destroyed it with a firey-punch. "You're a crazy old man! You're crazy! And if you weren't in jail, you'd be sleeping in the gutter!"

Zuko left the cell, leaving Iroh alone again. As Zuko angrily walked down the hall, he failed to notice the invisible Foot-tech ninjas still following and observing him.

* * *

 _Fire Nation School_

The next day had begun as Leo hung in the same spot as before, silently observing Aang as the teacher walked in, and all the students stood up in a military fashion, Aang quickly got up as well.

"Good morning class." The Teacher stated. "Today, we shall be getting a new instructor."

The students looked surprised as the instructor walked in, but Aang and Leo both shared looks of shock as they recognized him. A Foot Ninja.

"Hello, worthless maggots." The Foot Ninja greeted. Aang silently gulped. "Follow me, it's time for your class to begin."

* * *

The students we're shown to an outside courtyard, while Leo kept an especial watch on what was going on. The courtyard was lined with several hanging sandbags and stuffed dummies. There was a rack filled with sharp spears. The Foot Ninja instructor handed a spear to each student, even 'Kuzon' as he nervously took one.

"Today, you will all learn the art of combat." The Ninja began. "If you are to truly serve your nation, you must learn how to fight. And to learn how to fight, you must also learn how to strike down your opponent." He unsheathed a katana as he sped to a dummy. "Like so." He stabbed the dummy in the chest before quickly making a motion with his blade in the neck area. As he quickly sheathed his sword, the dummy's head fell off. Aang rubbed his neck as he saw this, where as Leo growled slightly.

"No lines, no limits, no mercy." The Ninja told the students. "Remember that. Now begin!"

The students we're each assigned to a hanging sand bag and we're to stab and twist repeatedly. Each student seemed to do this quite efficiently, though the girls seemed more nervous about it. When the Foot instructor would pass them though, they'd act serious and resume. He nodded in approval at all of this, save for one.

Aang held his staff as he looked between it and the sandbag. "Is there a problem, Kuzon?"

Aang turned to the ninja approaching him. "Uh… do we have to kill them, sir?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well it's just…" Aang tried. "I never… really done anything like this I… it just seems kinda… wrong."

The Ninja sighed as he shook his head. "Strike me."

"What?"

"Are you deaf boy? I said strike me!"

The students, including Leo, found themselves looking at the scene. Aang hesitantly took the spear. He turned it around so the flat end pointed outward before attempting to thrust it forward. The ninja shoved it away before sweeping Aang off his feet and pinning him to the ground with his right hand. He quickly took out his blade and drove it past his neck and into the ground. Aang gasped at how close the sword came.

"You we're hesitant, and you pointed the blade away from your opponent." The ninja explained before he turned to the other students. "Remember, mercy is a weakness! Your enemy will never show you mercy. In order to win, you must be quick, precise, and ruthless! Show no mercy and you will have victory!" He turned back towards Aang. "Do not forget that." He got up and put his sword away, letting Aang get back up. "Resume!"

* * *

It was now recess; Aang walked outside and received many stares from all the young students. Leo silently hung onto the rooftops and was unnoticed by the students. He knew this was a bad idea. Aang was soon approached by the same girl from yesterday.

"Uh.. Hi Kuzon." Anji greeted. "I didn't like that new instructor either. He was pretty scary."

"Yeah I know." Aang agreed.

"So, what was that thing with the spear pointed the other way?" She asked.

"That was a self-defense move I was taught a few years ago. I can show you something like it if you want."

A fire-blast hit his books, burning them and startling Aang quite a bit.

"What'd you say colony-trash?" Hide angrily questioned as he walked towards them. "You're going to show her something?"

" _Oh boy."_ Leo thought, as he knew this was going to end badly.

"Just some self-defense moves." Aang responded to Hide as he walked up to his face.

"Nobody shows my Anji anything! Especially moves!" Hide tried to shove Aang, but he swerved to the side. Hide tried to punch, but Aang swerved again. Leo saw what he was doing, just self-defense. Hide continued to try and punch, but Aang didn't even lift a finger as he just ducked and avoided. At one point, he was at Hide's back and gave a slight nudge, which only irritated him. Hide tried once more to hit, but when Aang moved, Hide fell and rolled from his own momentum and rolled across the ground.

Leo gave a slight smirk at this, but the smirk vanished when he saw the headmaster approach Aang. Hide whipped up some fake tears and Leo knew where this was going.

"Picking fights on your second day? We need to have a conference to discuss your punishment! Bring your parents to my office after school!"

"Parents?! But…"

"Don't be late!" The Headmaster exclaimed before walking away. Hide gave a triumphant smirk towards Aang before walking away.

Leo grimaced, while he was planning on doing something Master Splinter would likely disapprove of.

* * *

It was much later. After all the students and staff left; Sokka and Katara both disguised themselves as 'Kuzon's' parents as they attended the conference. While the Headmaster was occupied with this, Leo took the time to sneak through the school.

Leo found his way into a classroom where he picked up a textbook. He began to look through its contents. He could tell it was a history book. As Leo looked through the illustrations and writings his expressions changed from dumbfounded to surprise as he continued to read. He finished and closed the book with a scowl. Something had clearly needed to be done.

* * *

Back at the Royal City; Zuko and Mai sat together, looking towards the sunset on a cavern's ledge. Mai leaned against his shoulder.

"Orange is such an awful color." Mai commented, oddly with a smile.

Zuko gave a slight laugh. "You're so beautiful when you hate the world."

"I don't hate you."

"I don't hate you to."

Zuko and Mai both leaned in for a kiss. An 'ahem' caught both their attention as they looked towards the only one who'd likely interrupt such a moment.

"Zuko, can I have a word with you?" Azula asked.

"Can't you see we're busy?" Zuko coldly responded before he and Mai resumed their kiss.

Azula gave a slight smirk. "Oh Mai, Ty-Lee needs your help untangling her braid."

"Sounds pretty serious." Mai got up and walked away, but not before giving a slight glare at Azula, which she didn't seem to notice.

Azula turned her attention towards her older brother. "So, I hear you've been to visit your Uncle Fatso in the prison tower."

Zuko got up with anger on his face. "That guard told you!"

"No, you did, just now."

Zuko sat back down. "Okay, you caught me. What is it you want Azula?"

"Actually nothing." Azula replied. "Believe it or not, I'm looking out for you. If certain people find out you've been seeing Uncle, they'll think you're plotting with him. Just be careful Dumb-Dumb."

"And by 'certain people', you mean Shredder, don't you?" Zuko questioned.

Zuko gave a slight look to his sister, but was surprised to see her shiver a slight bit. "Yes, that's exactly who I mean. Take my advice, he's not someone you want to anger." She turned around and left.

* * *

 _Team Avatar Cave._

"That settles it! No more school for you young man!" Sokka exclaimed almost like a father as he stroke his fake beard.

"You know, for once Sokka is onto something." Raph agreed. "That was your last day at that place kid." He told Aang.

"I can't believe we're punishing someone by saying _no_ school." Mikey stated.

"I'm not ready to leave." Aang protested. "I'm having fun for once, just being a normal kid."

"Who wants to be normal?" Mikey questioned. "I always like the unnatural surprise of an abnormal life."

"You guys don't get it, especially you Sokka, you get to be normal all the time." Aang replied.

"Ha ha!" Toph laughed as Raph snickered and the two-fist-bumped, causing Sokka to scowl at them.

"Aang, I'm sure we all get what you're saying right now." Don began. "But its too dangerous, it was your second day and you we're already sent to the principle's office."

"I think Aang might be onto something though with that school." Leo said as he walked in.

"What are you talking about?" Katara asked.

Leo held up a textbook. "This is the standard history book at that school." He began to read it. "Fire Lord Sozin defeated the Air Nation military 100 years ago." That caught Aang's attention as he continued to read. "True history began with the Fire Lord Sozin. The barbaians that we're known as Waterbenders we're all captured from the savage Southern Water Tribe spanning the last decade…."

"But… none of that stuff happened!" Sokka stated

"The Air Nomads never had a military force, we we're peaceful people!" Aang exclaimed in a mix of shock and anger.

"The Southern Water Tribe was never savage, we we're defending ourselves as the Fire Nation attacked us!" Katara also exclaimed.

"And I'm pretty sure there we're plenty of other Fire Lords before that Sozin-guy." Toph pointed out.

"Exactly." Leo said. "This is propaganda."

"These guys are teaching their kids false history in order to make them look like the good guys." Mikey realized.

"Well, within these kind of countries, the heads of state would always try to find ways of getting the younger generation to support them; either by fear, or by propaganda to demonize the enemy." Don explained.

"And with a Foot Ninja now teaching at that school, this whole place is gonna get worse than it already is if Shredder ends up running the show." Raph pointed out.

"We can't leave yet." Leo told the group. "We may not be able to tell these kids the truth, they probably wouldn't believe us, but we still can do something, maybe give them a little taste of real freedom and not national service"

"And just how are we going to do that?" Raph asked.

"I'm gonna throw them, a secret dance party!" Aang exclaimed while everyone looked quite surprised at that.

"Go to your room!" Sokka pointed in one direction.

* * *

 _Several hours later_

The cave was set up with several candles. Toph used Earthbending to raise several platforms and podiums.

"This has got to be the worst idea you've ever come up with Aang!" Raph stated.

"Yeah, throwing a dance party just seems so… silly!" Sokka agreed.

"Don't think of it as a dance party guys." Aang told them. "Just think of it as a cultural event celebrating the art of fancy foot-work!"

"Yeah… I'll just do that." Raph rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Alright listen up." Leo spoke out, getting the group's attention. "Aang; you and everyone stay here and keep these kids dancing. Raph, you're with me. We're doing something about that school."

"What do you have in mind?" Raph asked with a mischievous smile.

Leo shared the smirk. "Trust me, you'll love it."

* * *

Just as the hooded Leo and Raph left the cave and ran on top a hillside, all the students began to approach the cave.

"They're coming!" Toph sensed. "Everyone stop bending! All Turtles put their robes on!"

Don and Mikey quickly pulled down their respective hoods as Aang walked towards Appa.

"Sorry buddy, you should probably wait out back." Appa groaned in response. "I know, you've got fancier feet than anybody, and six of them!" Appa walked back towards the back of the cave where a rear exit was located.

* * *

Sometime later, catchy music began to play in the cave as a few students played a series of instruments on the large podiums.

"Ladies and Gentleman, the Flamey-Os!" Aang exclaimed as he gestured to the musicians. "Yeah, this outta get everyone moving!"

Aang turned around to see that no one was dancing.

"I don't think its working." Mikey commented as he hung back with Don, Katara, Toph, and Sokka.

"Now what do we do?" A student asked.

"This is where you start dancing." Aang replied.

"I don't think my parents would want me dancing in a cave." A boy said as he sunk his head down.

"Yeah, what if someone finds out!?" A panicking kid questioned.

"Yep, this is not working at all." Don face-palmed.

"Oh boy, listen guys." Aang began. "Listen guys, dancing isn't something you think about. It's a form of self-expression that no one can ever take away from you."

"Maybe it was different in the colonies Kuzon." A boy said. "But we don't do that here."

Mikey groaned. "I can't stand this." The hooded and robed Turtle walked up. "Listen up kids, you probably think life revolves around that Fire Lord guy, don't you? Well it doesn't. Your own lives are just as important! And there not for anyone to tell you what to do! You guys have the right to choose what you want to be! If you wanna talk about dancing… just watch me!

Mikey jumped back and did a large back-flip that many of the students awed at. He then began to dance to the rhythm. "Think of this as a class, and your lesson: Learn how to be free!"

He performed several different rap and bebop dancing forms, mixing in several styles from 'the robot' and several others. Aang smiled as he chimed in as well.

"Yeah my friend's right! And besides, I know several traditional Fire Nation dances!" Aang then began to dance alongside Mikey, performing several 100-year-old Fire Nation dances, which somehow seemed to mirror Mikey's movements. The two jumped high and sailed past each other before landing gracefully on their feet; causing many of the students to look in awe.

Don, Katara, Sokka, and Toph continued to watch from a table on the side. "Wow, who knew those two could dance?" Toph asked.

"I don't know about Aang, but Mikey's always been one for goofing off." Don stated.

Katara looked to both of them and smiled.

* * *

 _Royal Prison_

Zuko had come to visit his uncle again, who still refused to face him. "I brought you some Komodo-Chicken." Zuko slid the basket into the cell. "I know you don't care for it, but I figure it beats prison food."

Iroh still said nothing. "Look, I meant what I said last night. I really didn't have a choice back in Ba-Sing-Se." Zuko sighed as he continued. "No one else knows about this, but if I didn't help Shredder back there, he said he'd kill everyone I knew."

Iroh's eyes widened as he still faced away from his nephew.

"Everyday, it feels like I'm being watched! Like someone or something is always around me! I'm home and I still don't feel free!" Zuko continued. "I think the Avatar's alive. If Shredder found out…"

Zuko stopped.

"No. I'm going to figure this out on my own!" Zuko walked out. "Just forget I was ever here, it's probably better for you if I wasn't around anyway."

Iroh said nothing as his nephew left, and the fallen general let a single tear roll down his eye.

* * *

 _The School_

Raph joined Leo at the top of the tallest rooftop of the entire school, having finished what he needed to do.

"Is it set?" Leo asked.

"It's set." Raph confirmed. "I gotta say bro, I don't mind doing something like this, but I never thought you would."

"I'm not a huge fan of this; but we'll be giving those kids a chance to be free and see things for themselves, give them a chance to let them decide to do with their lives." Leo explained.

"Got it." Raph said as he lit a match. "Plus, sticking it to guys like that Ozai and his lackeys, and Shredder, always makes me smile." He threw a match down on a small stream of oil, causing it to light on fire. The fire spread into inside the building, where it caught on the oil-covered text books.

As the two hooded-Turtles made their way from the school, it was only a matter of time before the rest of it caught on fire from the inside as smoke lit flew from the windows.

* * *

Back in the cave, Aang and Mikey continued to demonstrate their unique dance-moves. Aang went towards Anji, who slightly blushed as Aang took her hand and brought her in the middle where Mikey was.

"This my little grasshoppers is called 'the robot'!" Mikey then began to dance the robot, with Aang following his movements, Anji slowly followed suit.

Their friends saw this. "Wow, they look pretty good together." Sokka observed.

"Eh, if that's what you like." Katara stated as she looked away slightly.

"Someone's jealous." Toph nudged to Don who gave an amused smirk in response.

Other students began to come forward and follow their movements in dancing the robot. "Yeah, that's it! That's the sound of happy feet!" Aang stated happily.

More and more students smiled and joined in; some danced the robot, while others began to perform their own dance movements.

"Alright! Go with that! Everybody free-style!" Aang cheered.

"Remember young ones." Mikey began imitating his Sensei. "When in doubt, just follow your gut."

Everyone began to dance in his or her own unique way. Smiles formed along everyone as they continued to dance and these students had experienced something they never did before: Fun.

Aang held his hand out towards Katara.

"I don't know Aang." She nervously said as she held her hair slightly. "These shoe's aren't really made for dancing, and I'm not sure I even know how to…"

"Take my hand." Aang said.

Katara was still somewhat hesitant until Don came up behind her and lightly nudged her towards Aang. He took her hand and the two entered the center of the dancing party.

Mikey came up next to Don and both turtles fist-bumped.

In the middle, Aang and Katara began to dance together. Their movements we're mirrored together. Soon the students began to look as they stopped dancing to see what Katara and Aang we're doing together.

"Aang, everyone's watching." Katara whispered.

"Don't worry about them. It's just you and me right now."

Katara blushed slightly. "Then, like Mikey said, I'll just follow my gut."

They continued to dance together. Their movements together we're a mix of something from real dance forms; martial art styles from their respective bending as well as bits of ninjitsu they've seen from the Turtles before. Everyone continued to watch. Smirks we're shared between Toph, Don, and Mikey as they too watched. All the young students awed at these movements that we're shared between the two young partners. They finished with Aang dipping Katara a bit.

Everyone, including Toph, Mikey, and Don, all clapped in once they finished and wide smiles we're seen on both Aang and Katara.

* * *

Leo and Raph continued to move on the cliff towards the mouth of their cave as they heard all the noise coming from the lit mouth cave.

"Guess they're having fun." Leo observed.

"Heh, who'd thought that kid's crazy plan would actually work?" Raph cracked with a grin. Raph's grin vanished when he saw certain individuals walk towards the cave. "Uh, Leo?"

Leo saw what Raph was pointing to. "Aw crud."

The Headmaster of the school, as well as three guards, walked towards the cave.

"It _is_ a dancing party." The Headmaster observed. "You did the right thing by telling me Hide." He told the boy behind him.

"Anytime Headmaster sir." Hide bowed. The group then began to walk towards that cave.

Raph and Leo saw this with scowls. "That kid needs to be taught a lesson." Raph grunted.

"For once Raph, I completely agree with you." Leo stated. "Come on, I've got a plan."

* * *

"This is incredible!" A dancing student exclaimed. "It's like my inhibitions just disappeared!"

The Headmaster and his goons walked in, causing many of the students to stop at the sight of him.

"Okay, there back again." The same student said to himself.

The Headmaster spotted Aang. "He's the one we want! The boy with the headband!"

Aang saw the guards running towards him. "Uh oh." He ran into the crowd with the guards following him.

Don and Mikey both looked to each other and nodded as they ran into the crowd of students and vanished.

The guards continued to look for the boy with the headband, but they failed to notice two cloaked individuals quickly moving in-between the many kids. One stuck his green foot out, causing a guard to fall over into the dirt. A female guard felt a push on her back, causing her to stumble and land on another female guard present. When one guard got up, he saw a boy with a headband and turned him around, but it wasn't who he was looking for.

"Looking for me?" The student asked.

"That's not the one." The Headmaster angrily growled, with Hide behind him imitating his actions. "He's here somewhere, don't let him leave the cave!"

Hide heard something behind him; he turned around and saw a flash of something outside the cave. He went after it with a scowl, thinking it was the boy he was looking for.

While the guards continued to search, music oddly still continued to play. As a female guard began to search for their target, she felt a nudge on her back, causing her to turn around. She only saw the students as she looked around for who did it. The one who did it however, quickly swerved behind and swept his leg under her, causing her to fall over, earning some laughs from the students. As she got back up, she saw a headband-student. She grabbed the shoulder, only to see it was a girl.

"Yes?" The student asked.

A male guard looked around as he felt something hit his head, cuasing him to stumble. He looked around and didn't find anyone. The same force hit him in the back as he fell down. He got back up and saw two headbands, not in the mood to pick, he grabbed both, but neither of them we're the right boy.

"Hi there!"

"How you doing?"

The Headmaster angrily looked around with a scowl. He found someone with a headband and quickly made his way through the students, as he did however, he failed to notice several green hands and feet quickly push, kick, and trip him, making his job all the more difficult. The last kick caused him to fall over into a mud-puddle face-first. He got up and his muddied face saw the headband. He picked it up, but it was a little girl with her middle teeth missing.

"Searching for someone?"

The Headmaster and his guards all came back-to-back-to-back-to-back as all the students around them wore identical headbands.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Do you need something?"

"Over here?"

* * *

Back outside, Hide looked around the outside side of the cave for the boy he had every intention of beating up. He heard a few whooshing sounds above him and looked to see no one.

"You like picking on those smaller than you, huh?" A voice spoke out.

"How about you try picking on someone your own size, punk?" Another voice challenged.

"Show yourself!" Hide exclaimed.

"You're a Firebender, why don't you light it up?" The second voice continued to challenge.

Hide sent a fire-stream to the source of the voice but hit a rock. He growled.

"Do you know what happens when you pick on someone too much?" The first voice taunted.

"That person you pick on, gets some major payback. And the bully gets his just desserts." The second voice taunted.

"Where are you?!" Hide shouted.

"Right behind you."

Hide turned around with a flame-in-hand, illuminating the dark spot, and revealing the face of Leonardo. The Turtles' face caused him to stumble back in fear.

"What the…?!"

Raph came up from behind and landed a kick in his back, causing him to hit the rocky wall and stumble into the water. Hide got up and saw the two Turtles staring down at him with glares.

"What…. What are you…?" The terrified Hide shuddered.

"You're worst nightmare." Raph stated as he and Leo both leaned forward, and the kid looked ready to piss himself.

Leo only said one word. "Boo."

Hide screamed like a girl before he ran and accidentally slammed into a rock-wall. He then fell down unconscious. Leo and Raph both smirked before they ran to the other side of the small island where Appa would be waiting.

* * *

Back inside; while the Headmaster and his guards we're distracted; Don led Katara, Toph, and Sokka to the back exit of the cave. Aang and Mikey we're the last ones as they saw a student give them a smile and a wink.

Aang gave a grateful bow as Mikey gave a thumbs-up before the two ran into the back. The walls soon closed around the back with Earthbending, causing the student's jaw to drop.

The Headmaster slumped in defeat. He saw a female guard slightly dancing to the still-playing music. "Stop that!" He saw another female guard tapping her foot to the music. "Stop that!"

* * *

Appa took off into the sky with Aang, Leo, Katara, Raph, Mikey, Sokka, Don, and Toph all on-board.

"Did you guys do what you needed to?" Aang asked Leo and Raph.

"Oh we did it alright, and then some." Raph replied with a knowing smirk.

"So you can take off that beard now Sokka." Don told him.

"Oh no I can't." Sokka replied with a smug look. "It's permanently glued to my skin." He stroked the fake beard.

Raph groaned as he rolled his hand down his face. "God help us."

"Nice going Aang." Leo told the young Airbender. "It's not like we took down Ozai or Shredder, but I think this is gonna help this country in the long-run."

"Yeah, you taught those kids to be free." Toph added.

"And a bit on how to bend the rules to." Mikey added as well. "How to stick it to the man."

"I don't know." Aang said, trying to be modest. "It was just a dance party, that's all."

"Right. Just a dance party." Don sarcastically said as he smirked and playfully rolled his eye

"Well it was some dance party Aang." Katara said before she kissed Aang on the cheek, causing Leo, Mikey, Don, and even Raph to whistle in a teasing manner as Aang blushed.

"Flamey-o, sir. Flamey-o." Sokka said as he slowly clapped.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a small industrial district, within the dead of night; Zuko slowly walked around to make sure he was alone. He absolutely hated to do this, but if Shredder believed the Avatar was still alive, he would make good on his threat and kill everyone Zuko cared for: his Uncle, Mai, Ty-Lee, even Azula.

He heard a stomp behind him and turned around. "You're sure you weren't followed?"

The individual nodded. Before, Zuko had considered sending this individual after Shredder, but he knew little-to-nothing about him. He didn't want to take the chance Shredder would find a way through this, and still make good on his threat.

"I've heard about you." Zuko told him. "They say they're good at what you do, and even better at keeping secrets. The Avatar is alive, I want you to find him, and end him."

He said this to a man with a metal arm, metal leg, and a third-eye tattoo.

Neither of them however noticed the same two invisible Foot Tech Ninjas that had been following Zuko these last few days, on a nearby roof. They saw and heard everything. They both jumped away and began to make their way to their master.

* * *

The now visible Foot Tech Ninjas had bowed in the base of the Foot, before Oroku Saki, who stood with Karai and Hun at his side.

"The Avatar lives." Oroku Saki said.

"But master, you stabbed him through the heart!" Hun stated. "No one should have survived that!"

"And yet the boy did." Saki replied. "Most impressive."

"Father, should we tell Ozai about this?" Karai asked.

"No." Oroku Saki responded. "Let him continue to believe the Avatar is no more. If we play our cards right, this shall work in our favor."

"Master, if the Avatar is really alive, then the Turtles are probably with him. And they can cause us a great deal of trouble!" Hun stated. "They may even find out about our plan on the Day of Black Sun."

"Yes, I do see your point, Hun." Oroku Saki agreed. "We'll need a way to at the very least slow them down, and allow us to make the proper preparations."

" _Perhaps I can be of some use."_

The three turned around to see a screen flicker to life as Stockman was on the other side of the video-link, transmitting from his lab in Ba-Sing-Se.

"I did not call for you, Stockman." Oroku Saki angrily stated.

" _And that was your first mistake."_

While Saki and Hun glared, Karai spoke up. "What do you want Baxter?"

* * *

 _Stockman's Genetic Lab in Ba-Sing-Se_

The robotic-scientist spoke towards the large screen as he addressed the three Foot leaders.

"I couldn't help but overhear, and I believe I have the perfect solution to deal with our little problem regarding the Avatar and those infernal reptiles."

This caught Saki's, Hun's, and even Karai's attention.

"Behold!" Stockman pointed behind them and showed them four large tanks filled with green liquid. But what it was within the tanks that really caught their attention. No details could be made of the four individuals, one per tank, floating in the liquid; but one could see several dark skin colorations on them; one blue, one red, one purple, and one yellow. If one looked behind, they would see some dark, almost black, shells on the backs of them.

"Through the use of DNA samples we've 'acquired' from the Turtles, as well as their psych evaluations we've studied, and thanks to my own genius; I was able to successfully create enhanced replicas of the Turtles!" Stockman explained. "I not only duplicated them both physically and psychically, but I enhanced their own strength and speed to make them superior to the originals! These clones are equipped not only to destroy the Turtles, but also the Avatar and his friends, using their own skills against them!"

"It's Ninja-Time, dude!" A voice came from the tank that sounded identical to a certain orange-clad-Turtle. The voice then began to give an evil laugh as he tapped the inside of the tank.

Stockman slammed his metal fist against the tank, shutting the clone up. "The clones are combat ready and are awaiting your command, Master. I promise you, they will not fail."

The screen showed Oroku Saki with a sinister smile. _"Send your creations to intercept that bounty hunter first and deal with him. Then unleash them upon the Turtles and the Avatar."_

* * *

The screen cut to blank as Oroku Saki returned to his daughter and second-in-command.

"Evil clones of the Turtles. This should be good." Hun smirked.

"Father, are you certain they will really be of use to us?" Karai asked.

"At the very least, they'll be sufficient enough to keep the Avatar and the Turtles distracted, just long enough for us to finish our plan." Oroku Saki smirked.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you Master?" Hun asked with an amused smile.

"I'm about to topple a powerful empire, and bring this whole world down to its knees Hun, of course I am." Oroku Saki finished with the smirk still on his face.

Karai however looked down as though something was conflicting inside her.

 **Done.**

 **I hope you guys like this. I'm sure you all know who Stockman is sending after the Turtles. Those are among my favorite TMNT (2003) villains, next to Shredder himself. Things are about to get real for our heroes. Not just who's after them, but what Shredder is planning to do. What is he up to? We shall find out soon. See ya at the next update.**


	16. The Painted Lady

**Hi everyone. I apologize greatly for the long wait. I have my plate filled with school, work, as well as cross country, so trying to find time to work on my stories is not as easy as one would think. Anyway, here is the long awaited update. I hope you like it. I own neither Last Airbender, nor Ninja Turtles.**

 **The Painted Lady**

Appa was floating in a filthy river, his passengers consisted of the usual four Ninja Turtles, Waterbender, Earthbender, and a pony-tailed idiot, the only one missing was a certain Airbender.

"Aang get out of there!" Leo called down. "This river smells like crap!"

"One second Leo!" Aang called out as he popped up. "Momo!" The lemur flew to the location, only for Aang to dive into the mucky water right when the lemur arrived. Aang popped up again from a different location. "Oh Momo!" Aang dove under again just as the lemur flew there. Aang popped up in another location before the lemur latched onto Aang's head.

The young Avatar gave a childish laugh. "You found me buddy."

"Aang get up here, now!" Leo called.

Aang looked down in the water he was in and realized Leo was right. He used Airbending to jump back up on the saddle where everyone else was.

"Hey guys, I think this river's polluted." Aang guessed as he looked at the muck he was covered in, before using Airbending to blow it off himself and right onto everyone, much to their disgust.

"Gee what tipped you off, wise one?" Raph questioned sarcastically.

Some of the much even got into Toph's and Mikey's mouths. Toph spat hers out as Mikey did with disgust as well. "We've lived in sewers before, but this is ridiculous!"

"Got to be some kind of factory or something nearby, because there is no way this is natural." Don guessed as Aang used more Airbending to blow the gunk off his friends.

Sokka was meanwhile fishing for food. "Well it certainly explains why I can't catch a fish around here. Because normally my fishing skills are _off the hook!_ " He joked. Everyone gave blank stares, while Raph and even Mikey just face-palmed with groans. "Get it? Like a fishing hook?"

"Yeah we get it, not funny." Raph groaned.

"Too bad Sokka's jokes aren't _on_ the hook." Toph cracked; resulting in everyone else, turtle and human alike, laughing, except for of course Sokka who only had a slight scowl on his face.

"It looks like we need to go somewhere else to get food." Katara said, just as a long roll of paper unfolded in front of all of them. "Assuming that'll fit into Sokka's master schedule."

"I am never giving him paper again." Don commented.

Sokka looked at his 'master schedule'. "Hmmm, it's doable, but that means only two potty breaks today."

Raph groaned again. "Why are you letting him do this again? You're the leader." He questioned to Leo.

"It makes him feel better, otherwise we'll hear him complain all day." Leo replied to his brother.

Aang looked out further and spotted something. "Hey, maybe we can get food there."

"Village incoming." Leo stated as they all set eyes on the village. "We're gonna need to set up camp somewhere and get our disguises on."

* * *

The group had set up camp on a hilly-cliff area near the river and had put on their respective disguises; with the Turtles wearing their dark red hooded cloaks (Mikey's was pink but he painted over it so he wouldn't be mistaken for a girl). Aang had put up a sheet of grass over Appa so he wouldn't be seen.

"Now you look just like a little hill with horns, bye buddy!" Aang told the covered Appa as he ran off.

"Hill with horns, yeah no one's gonna notice that." Raph said sarcastically again, but didn't want to argue with Aang's lack of knowledge.

The disguised Gaang and Ninja Turtles walked up near a cliff and looked down at the village in the mucky river.

"I don't feel anything, where's this village?" Toph asked as her seismic sense couldn't pick it up.

"It's in the middle of the river." Don pointed out.

"Sure is!" A voice called out. They all looked down at the bottom of a cliff to see an elderly man with an orange hat at a dock with a raft. "My name's Dock, mind if I ask who you are?"

"We're from the Earth Kingdom colonies." The disguised Leo answered.

"Wow, colonials. Hop on, I'll give you a ride into town."

* * *

The group was now on the raft, which Dock was steering with a bamboo-stick like an ore.

"Why do you guys live in the river?" Katara asked.

"And on one that smells worse than week-old-socks, to." Mikey added.

"Because we're a fishing town." Dock answered. "That's how it was before the factory moved in."

Don spotted the structure a couple of miles out from their current location, which had loads of smoke coming out of the stacks, and tons of waste being pored out into the river. "Is that the factory?"

"Yep that's it." Doc replied. "Army moved in a few years ago and started gunking up our river. And we also heard the Fire Lord's got himself a new partner, and now they demand even more metal, some kind of big project going on." Leo and Aang looked to each other with concern, having a good idea who this partner was. "Now our village is struggling to survive."

* * *

Dock had taken them to the village. They had all gotten off and began walking through it. Toph was holding onto Raph for support, as she was completely blind on the wood the village was made of.

The group looked around at the very poor shape of the village, and the villagers. Most of them had sympathetic looks on their faces, especially a certain Waterbender and Orange-Clad-Turtle.

"Look at this place, it's so sad." Katara observed.

"That's putting it mildly." Don agreed.

"This town is Fire Nation too, isn't it?" Mikey questioned. "Shouldn't it be a little nicer than this?"

"Tyrants like Ozai don't care about what shape 'lower-class' is in, as long as they have the power." Leo stated.

Katara couldn't stand the fought of that. "We have to do something to help."

Of course, a certain skeptic was against the thought of it. "No we can't waste our time here." Sokka interjected. "We all have a bigger mission that we need to stay focused on, these people are on their own."

Even Raph was somewhat surprised at that; but the ones who we're the most irritated we're ironically Katara and Mikey.

"Sokka look around you, these people are dying!" Mikey told him.

"How can you turn your back on them?! How can you be so cold and heartless?!" Katara exclaimed to her brother as well.

"I bet its because their Fire Nation, isn't it?" Mikey guessed.

"That's got nothing to do with this!" Sokka contradicted. "I'm not turning my back, I'm being realistic! We can't help every rinky-dinky town we wonder into. We'll be helping them out by taking out the…"

Before Sokka could finish, Raph smacked him on the back of the head. "Moron, watch what you say about taking out the Irefe, Ordle." (Fire Lord in pig-Latin)

"Yeah, I'm sure they didn't hear you talking all the way in the capital, loud mouth." Toph commented.

Sokka rubbed the back of his head. "Katara, Mikey, be reasonable about this. Our mission has to come first."

Both of them looked towards Leo, who sighed. "I want to help these people to, but, and I can't believe I'm even saying this, Sokka may have a point." The two looked rather surprised at Leo. "Like I said, I want to help, but I don't see how we can in the long run without catching some unwanted attention."

"That's right, the last thing we want is to let Shredder know where we are." Don agreed.

Mikey sighed as he knew they we're right. "Fine."

"Yeah, I guess you're all right." Katara conceded.

"Let's just get what we need and go." Aang told the group.

* * *

Before long, the group came up to a small stand, where the fish we're being sold. They came to the front and Sokka rang the bell, causing a familiar man to turn around to the group.

"Hi Dock, you work here to?" Sokka asked.

"I'm not Dock, I'm _Xu_. Dock's my brother."

The group looked quite confused. "Uh… what?" Mikey questioned.

"But we just saw you." Aang pointed out. "You're even wearing the same clothes, the only difference is your hat." He pointed to the yellow hat instead of the orange one they saw earlier.

"Dock works at the docks, that's why they call him 'Dock'. I work in the shop, that's why they call me 'Xu'."

The group looked even more confused. "I don't get it." Mikey and Aang both said at the same time.

"Me neither."

Raph turned to Don and waved his finger around the side of his head. "Coo-coo."

"Crazy." Don agreed as well as this guy likely had a case of MPD.

Xu reached down below and pulled up a box. "What can I get ya?" He put the box on the shelf and let Aang, Leo, Katara, Don, Raph, Sokka, and Mikey all take a look at it, though they immediately wished it hadn't because all the fish and clams looked worse than they smelled. "Hey, I'll even give you a special deal." Xu proposed. "If you buy three fish, I'll throw in a clam for free."

Don slowly touched the clam and some unknown substance came out of it, causing them to back out in disgust, with Raph looking like he's about to puke.

"No thanks." Leo told Xu "We'll just take the fish."

Xu grabbed quite a few fish to wrap up for his customers.

"Mind telling your brother that we need a ride back to shore?" Sokka asked.

Xu handed the fish to Katara before diving back down and popping back up with the orange hat that Dock had. "Hey Colonials, my brother says you need a lift." Dock hopped over the side of his shop and began to lead the group back to the docks.

The last ones we're Mikey and Katara, who both we're stopped by a young and skinny boy. "Can you spare some food?"

Katara and Mikey both looked sympathetic before the hooded Turtle gave a slight smile. "Sure thing kid."

Katara gave one of the fishes to the boy. "I wish I could help more."

"You and me both sister." Mikey agreed.

The boy took the fish and ran to his hut where he gave it to his ailing mother. Before Mikey and Katara could walk, back they saw Raph was waiting for them. Katara gave the red-clad Turtle a slight scowl before he could speak.

"Don't say anything Raph!"

"I wasn't gonna." Raph replied. "Other that I'm a bit surprised. Aren't these guys still Fire Nation? Why do you care?"

"Raph look around!" Mikey told him. "Do these guys look like the same kind of people helping Shredder?"

"Mikey's right." Katara agreed. "They may be Fire Nation, but they're still human! They're not the same soldiers who marched all over us for the last hundred years!"

Raph held his hands up defensively. "Alright, alright, don't get snippy. Believe it or not, I actually wanna help a bit to."

"Huh?!" Mikey and Katara both uttered at the same time as they we're naturally confused at the red-clad turtle actually showing sympathy.

"You're right, these people are starving. If it we're up to me, I'd beat up the guys who made this town like this." Raph growled slightly. "But… there isn't much we can do without letting the bad guys know where we are. We're supposed to keep a low-profile."

Mikey and Katara both conceded and joined up with the others.

* * *

 _Later that night_

The group was at their campsite preparing dinner. Don was grilling the fish, trying to find ways to get any infections out of the fish before they would eat them, given they we're from the polluted water. Aang and Toph used a mix of Waterbending and Earthbending on a barrel of polluted water to separate the impurities and put the clean water in a large cauldron. Leo, Raph, and Mikey we're helping in Don to cook the fish. Sokka was walking by, taking a look at his 'master schedule.'

"Our detour into town today has completely thrown of our schedule. It's gonna take some serious finagling to get back on track."

Raph groaned as everyone sat down, getting tired of Sokka thinking he was in charge.

"Finagle away O-schedule-master." Toph said with no attempt to hide our sarcasm.

Sokka then began to address the group, though most weren't listening. "Well for starters, it looks like we'll need to wake up 43 minutes earlier everyday."

"Forty-three minutes?" Katara questioned.

"Where'd you come up with that number?" Don sarcastically questioned.

"Look we only have a few weeks to get to Shredder and the Fire Lord in time for the invasion and the eclipse, which by the way, only lasts for eight minutes. And we just lost a whole day, so if we want to make up the time and stay on schedule we have to wake up early!" Sokka stated.

"We'll I'm not waking up early." Toph retorted.

"Neither am I! I need my beauty sleep!" Mikey agreed.

"Or we can just cut out all our eating breaks." Sokka snarked.

"What?!" Aang questioned.

"Screw that!" Raph exclaimed.

"You're nuts!" Don stated.

"No way!" Katara protested.

"Forget it!" Toph growled

"Not gonna happen!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Just stop Sokka." Leo advised.

Sokka thought for a minute. "How about this, we take our food breaks, and potty breaks, at the same time?" Four bowls we're thrown at his head in direct response to that, courtesy of each of the Turtles; while Aang spat out his noodles in disgust, just as Toph and Katara shared disgusted looks.

"Leo, please take charge. I can't stand another minute of him being in charge." Toph told the blue-clad Turtle.

Sokka got up and rubbed his sore head. "Hey, it may be gross, but it's efficient. Either way, we need to leave here first thing tomorrow morning."

Raph couldn't take another second of this. "Hey Sokka, can I look at that schedule real quick?" He asked as he got up.

Sokka gave a confused look as he handed the turtle his long schedule. "Okay but I don't see how…" As soon as Raph got it he scrunched up the entire paper into one ball and threw it into the campfire, causing it to burst into flames.

"Wha… No…!" Sokka screamed as he fell on his knees, watching his precious schedule die in the flames. He turned to the red-clad Turtle with anger. "WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR?!"

"Because you're an idiot, that's why." Raph replied simply.

Sokka was about to come up with a response, but Leo shot up. "That's enough! Sokka, you need to know that not everything will go one-hundred-percent according to plan."

"It should!" Sokka replied.

"Well it doesn't." Leo replied. "You need to improvise when things go wrong."

"So lets see how you do without that schedule of yours to mess with all of us." Raph told Sokka, who at that point could only slump in defeat and began to walk away to his sleeping bag while muttering in words that only he could hear.

While everyone else was eating, Mikey gestured for Katara to sit closer to him, a bit away from the campsite, and most of the group's earshot. Mikey took notice of her look.

"Worried about that village?"

"You even have to ask?" Katara replied. "I get we all have a mission, but I don't feel comfortable about leaving all those people like that."

"Who said we'd have to?" Mikey replied, Katara looked in surprise to his mischievous smirk. "I have a plan."

Katara had her own sly smile. "I'm listening."

* * *

 _The Next Morning_

Everyone was just now waking up, the first thing everyone saw however was Appa lying on his side; with Mikey and Katara near him.

"Aw, is your stomach not feeling well?" Mikey asked in a baby-sort-of-way.

"Something wrong guys?" Leo asked as most gathered around them.

"I think Appa's sick." Katara guessed.

Sokka immediately shot up when he heard those words. "What?! Appa's Sick!? That's awful!"

"Wow Sokka, I didn't realize you cared so much." Toph muttered in surprise as she was just waking up.

"Or cared about anything at all really." Raph muttered as well.

"Of course I care!" Sokka defended before taking out some paper. "I've been working on a new schedule, and I might as well throw it away now!"

An 'ahem' from Leo caught his attention as he looked to see the scowls and crossed-arms from Leo, Aang, Katara, Toph, Don, and Mikey. Raph took out both his sais. "I'm giving you a ten-second-head-start. Use the time wisely."

Wanting to avoid any savage beating, Sokka rushed towards Appa's cheek and rubbed his own against it. "And I'm concerned because my big furry friend doesn't feel well."

Raph sighed as he put his sais away. "Good enough."

"How'd this happen anyway?" Leo questioned in regards to Appa's condition.

"He must have gotten sick from being in the polluted water." Toph guessed.

"He doesn't look sick." Aang observed as he kneeled near his bison. "You okay buddy?"

Appa opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, which was more purple than Don's ninja-mask.

"Well there's something you don't see everyday." Don observed.

"His tongue is purple, that can't be good." Aang was now a bit worried.

"Don? Diagnosis?" Leo questioned.

"I'm not a veterinarian, how should I know? Can't you heal him Katara?" Don asked the Waterbender.

"It looks like he needs some medicine, maybe we can find the right herbs in town." Katara guessed.

"Well, back to the depressing fishing town." Mikey told the group. Right before they could head out, Momo began to lick the purple substance from Appa's tongue, only for Aang to pull him off.

* * *

The group was back in the same fishing town from the previous day, though something about it seemed different.

"Okay… what just happened? Is this really the same town?" Raph questioned.

"You're right Raph, this place seems quite different." Toph agreed.

"It's not as depressing as it was yesterday." Don observed.

"Yeah… are the people… happier?" Aang questioned.

It seemed that way as everyone seemed in much better mood. Kids we're playing on the docks and the adults we're more active, making friendly conversation. A couple of kids even ran passed the group of heroes, playing tag.

Katara and Mikey both shared smiles before joining up with the rest, but failed to notice Leo caught sight of these smiles.

The group went to the same fish shop as before, with Xu at the stand. "Hey Xu, what's going on with everyone today?" Sokka asked.

Xu finished drinking from a ladle before talking with the group. "Ah, something amazing happened last night. Food was delivered to our village by a mysterious and wonderful person: The Painted Lady!"

"The painted who?" Mikey questioned.

"The Painted Lady." Xu answered, before putting up a small statue of the aforementioned woman. "She's part of our town's lore. They say she's a river spirit, who watches over our town in times of need. I always thought she was just a legend, until now!"

The group observed more of the active and cheerful town. "Heh, this town's got its own Santa Claus, huh? Cool." Raph said with a slight grin.

"There, you guys see." Sokka began. "We don't need to help these people, they already have someone to help them."

"Don't be such a smart-ass Sokka." Leo lightly scolded before turning to Xu. "We need some medicine for our sick friend, do you know where we can find some?"

"Medicine?" Xu questioned. "Sorry, all the medicine we have goes to the factory."

"Which is the reason this place has so many sick people, right?" Don guessed.

"Yep, got it in one." Xu replied.

"Why don't you guys just go up there and ask them to share?" Mikey asked Xu.

"We tried, but they just shove us off saying they need it more than we do."

Raph gave a disgusted look at that. "Bunch of pricks."

"Looks like we'll need to stay another night so Appa can rest." Katara guessed.

Sokka gave a defeated sigh. "I guess you're right. You got anymore food to sell?" He asked Xu.

Xu popped down and back up with a fish in each hand. "Would you like the one-headed fish, or the two-headed fish?"

While most gave looks that silently said 'are you serious?', Sokka had one that was actually one of thought. "Two headed!"

"You can't be serious!" Raph exclaimed. "Are you really _that_ stupid?!"

"What? You get more for your money that way." Sokka defended.

Before anything else could be said, Leo zoomed behind Sokka and gave a neck-chop to the back of his neck, causing Sokka to fall down in unconsciousness, but Leo caught him before he fell over and turned back to Xu.

"We'll take the one-headed."

* * *

 _Later that night_

A figured completely clad in black hopped from rooftop-to-rooftop. He carried a large sack of items over his shoulder. The black-clad individual jumped down quietly onto the deck and moved with ninja-like speed. He moved past each door of each housing complex, reached into his sack and pulled out a container of medicine before setting it near the doorstop. Just as he worked, he noticed a faint fog coming in from the water.

The fog grew thicker as another individual, this one bearing the appearance of the Painted Lady, set foot on the wooden docks. She walked into a small building where many ill people slept. She quietly kneeled before each one and placed a hand on each of them, a faint blue light came from her hand as she worked. No one noticed her presence, save for a certain little boy who slept near his mother.

The Painted Lady finished her work and went outside to join the black-clad individual and the two walked towards the water. Before they made it, the little boy came outside. He could not see the person in black, but he did see the Painted Lady.

"Thank you Painted Lady."

The Painted Lady didn't turn around but gave a slight nod in response before she and her black-clad companion vanished in the fog. The fog dissipated, not even leaving a trace of those who we're there before.

The Painted Lady and the black-clad individual made it back to the shore.

"See what I tell ya?" The black-clad individual asked, taking off his mask, revealing it to be none-other-than Mikey with a smile. "I told ya dressing up was a good idea."

The Painted Lady took off her hat, revealing it to be Katara as she smiled back. "Yeah I admit it, nice one. So, did you deliver all the medicine?"

"Yep, and no one saw me." Mikey replied.

"You sure about stealing from the factory?" Katara asked with concern. "I just don't want to get all those people in trouble."

"It's fine, I didn't take all of it; they'll never notice." Mikey assured. "So, how you liking the super-hero thing?"

Katara couldn't hide her smile. "Its kind of exciting actually. Is this what its like for you guys in New York?"

"Kind of." Mikey answered. "My brothers and I have to stick to the shadows for obvious reasons; but I did one time actually tried on a costume myself and tried to become a super hero. I called myself 'The Turtle Titan'!" He announced with pride.

"'Turtle Titan'?" Katara questioned with a giggle. "Where'd you come up with that?"

"Hey, you gotta admit, it's better than anything Sokka could come up with." Mikey replied, resulting in Katara laughing.

As the two walked quietly back to their campsite, they failed to notice another individual, a certain blue-clad Turtle, watching them from a tall cliff side.

* * *

 _The Next Day, back in town._

Dock was at the shop, polishing the little statue of the painted lady when the group of heroes came back.

"Hey Dock, is Xu around?" Don asked, deciding to go along with his little 'thing'.

"Let me check." Dock ran around his shop, and came back as Xu with eh yellow hat instead of the orange one. "Hey there, back again are ya?"

Toph walked up. "We need more food. Our friend is still sick and we can't leave till he's better." She gave some money to Xu, which he took.

"Oh that's too bad." Xu put up a bowl of disgusting and oozing clams. "Maybe if you guys are lucky, the Painted Lady will visit you at night and heal your friend."

Sokka's eyebrow twitched at this, being the skeptic of the group. "And maybe she'll cook us a midnight snack and we'll all have a sing along."

"Heck she might even stop this whole stinking war that's been going on for the last one-hundred-years." Raph got in the sarcasm as well.

"Yeah, maybe." Xu replied, completely oblivious to the two's sarcasm. "You know she visited us again, last night?"

"Did she now?" Leo questioned, not taking his eyes off two certain individuals, which they didn't seem to notice. "Let me guess, she healed all your sick?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what happened. You're really smart." Xu replied.

"Is that why this place seems so festive?" Aang asked, looking at the very happy and busy town that they we're in.

"Yep, its all because of the Painted Lady." Xu stated as they all saw the townspeople erect a large statue of the spirit that was supposedly watching over them.

"Must be nice, getting all that hero worship and helping all these people." Mikey stated.

Katara agreed with Mikey on this as well. "Can you believe how much one village can be affected by one lady… um Spirit?"

Leo eyed that very curiously. "She's definitely got her work cut out for her, that's for sure."

"Well I hope she returns every night, otherwise this place will go right back to the way it was." Sokka pointed out.

Both Mikey and Katara turned around at that. "Geeze, you always such a buzz-kill Sokka?"

"Yeah, look how better off these people are." Katara agreed.

"For now anyway." Don pointed out. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for all these people, but they're relying too much on the Painted Lady."

"That's right Don." Leo added. "You can't wait around for Superman to come and save you; you have to find a way to help yourself."

"If this Painted Lady wanted to really help, she'd need to step up her game." Raph added as well.

"Yeah Raph, she'd use her Spirit Magic to blow up that factory." Sokka finished. "Whoooo! Booom!" He waved his arms straight upward for emphasis.

Katara's eyebrow twitched, while Raph just groaned in annoyance.

"Spirit Magic doesn't work that way Sokka." Aang stated as a matter-of-factly. "Its more like…" He began to flow more like a tree in the wind. "Woooh Pwooosh!"

As Katara walked away, Mikey followed right after her. Don looked a bit in surprise as it wasn't like the Orange-Clad turtle to not get involved in the 'goof-fest' Aang and Sokka we're having, which was ended when Raph smacked both of them upside the heads.

The commotion was unnoticed by Leo who eyed his youngest brother, and Waterbending friend curiously.

Mikey and Katara both stood at the edge of the docks, looking at the factory with equally determined looks. The youngest Turtle looked towards his partner-in-crime

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Mikey asked with a knowing grin.

"You even have to ask?" She replied back, which was all Mikey needed to hear.

* * *

 _Later that night; campsite_

While everyone was asleep, Katara quietly got up and looked towards Mikey on the other side of the camp. They both gave serious looks as they nodded. Thinking fast, they each got out of their respective sleeping bags quietly and placed dead grass in them so they looked filled. As they did this, they failed to notice someone else was still awake. Leo had only his right eye open as he saw them both get to work.

Mikey got up and quickly put on his all black suit as Katara donned her dark purple robe. She used Waterbending to gather a small puddle of water and place it on a rock, freezing it to look like a makeshift mirror. She quickly put on her make up and donned her hat.

Once they we're both ready, they quietly and quickly made their way from camp; completely unaware of Leo following them above on the rocks as quietly as possible. Leo knew that neither of them would ever admit this unless he caught them in the act. He didn't have any problem with what they we're doing, as he actually applauded them for it, but he also wanted to make sure their actions didn't draw too much attention.

However, Momo soon woke up and caught sight of the 'Painted Lady', he leaped down onto Aang, who woke up to see his pet lemur active. "What's the matter buddy?"

Aang managed to spot the Painted Lady, as well as the person in black, and Leo as well. "It's her. Hey Leo, wait up!" Aang called.

Leo stopped and grimaced. _"Aw Shell!"_ He mentally cursed, as this was also heard by Katara and Mikey, who both caught sight of Leo and Aang and made a break for it.

The disguised duo quickly ran inbetween a few rocks, and towards the river as Aang caught up to the less-than-pleased Leo.

"Okay Aang, you and I seriously need to have a talk about stealth and subtletly." Leo lightly scolded.

"What do you mean? I just want to talk to the Painted Lady." Aang wondered as the two got up to the Cliffside to see their targets almost at the river.

"That's not the Painted Lady, alright!? It's not even a real spirit!"

"What?!" Aang questioned in surprise.

"Ugh!" Leo groaned. "Catch them first, talk later."

Katara and Mikey made it to the river; Katara made small patches of ice for Mikey to run on as Katara literally ran on the water itself. Aang and Leo got to the river themselves, the young Avatar erected a path of ice for both him and Leo to run on and catch up with their targets.

The two disguised younglings made it to the village and began to run fast on the wooden docks; as they ran, they caught sight of two shadows and looked up on the rooftop to see Aang and Leo running parallel to them.

"Heeeyyy!" Aang called to get their attention, but slammed right into a pole. Leo had to stop to pry him off.

Using this opportunity, Mikey grabbed Katara by the shoulder and threw a smoke bomb down, which Katara added with some mist from the nearby water. Once the smokescreen cleared, there was no sign of either.

* * *

The two we're on the other side; Katara took the time to catch her breath, while Mikey didn't need to as he was used to this kind of rush and adrenaline from his ninja training, as it was physically stronger than Katara's.

"You think we lost them?" Katara asked Mikey.

"No, you didn't"

They both looked in shock to see Leo and Aang standing right in front of them, the older Turtle having his arms crossed. Katara tried to hide her appearance and tried to stiffen her voice.

"Hello… wiry travlers…" She tried until Leo came up and tossed off her hat.

"Word of advice, try not to make it so obvious." Leo said.

Mikey sighed as he took of his mask as well. "Alright bro, you caught us."

"Katara, you're the Painted Lady?! And Mikey's helping you?!" Aang questioned in surprise.

"I wasn't at first; we we're just trying to help the village" Katara replied. "But since that's who everyone thought I was anyway, I guess I sort of became her."

"The Painted Lady thing was actually my idea." Mikey pointed out.

"You're surprised? It really wasn't that hard to figure out." Leo told Aang.

"How'd you figure it out?" Katara asked.

"A number of things really." Leo began. "First, none of the stuff happened till we got here. Second, I had a feeling you we're involved Katara as the Painted Lady is a _river_ spirit and you're a Waterbender, making it pretty easy. Third, I figured Mikey's involved as this has 'super-hero' written all over it. Let me guess, Turtle Titan?"

"Yep." Mikey confirmed.

"'Turtle Titan'?" Aang asked in confusion.

"A name Mikey made for himself when he tried to be like a super-hero a year ago back in New York." Leo answered; the blue-clad Turtle gave a slight grin. "You know, Raph actually tried the same thing once."

Aang looked quite surprised by that, as did Katara. "Wait… Raph… really?" The Waterbender questioned in surprise.

"Yeah, he totally did." Mikey responded. "He called himself the Night Watcher. He went around all night and beat up all kinds of bad guys; but we talked him out of it."

Katara gave a slight giggle. "Night Watcher? I am never gonna let him live that down."

"Getting back to the matter at hand." Leo began. "It makes since Katara was able to help as she is a healer; but what about you Mikey?"

"I kinda…" The youngest turtle rubbed the back of his neck. "Borrowed food and medicine from the factory." Leo gave Mikey 'the look'. "Hey it wasn't there's to begin with! They stole that stuff from these people! I just gave them back."

"So you two have been sneaking out at night?" Aang questioned. "Wait, is Appa even sick?"

"He might be sick of the purple berries we've been feeding him, but other than that he's fine." Katara replied.

Mikey had a feeling Leo was about to say something. "Look, don't blame Katara okay? It was my idea, I talked her into it."

"No I went along anyway." Katara quickly said to support her friend. "I'm just as responsible."

"Guys, I'm not mad." Leo told them; earning shocked looks from both of them. "I'm actually proud. You guys took the initiative, even after we all said no. That takes guts."

"Yeah I think it's great to, you guys are real secret heroes!" Aang added.

Katara and Mikey both shared smiles. "You know, we're glad you think that way." Mikey said.

"Because there's one thing we could use some help with." Katara finished.

Aang gave a curious look, while Leo's smile vanished. "Why do I have a feeling I already know what that is?"

* * *

"Yep I knew it."

The group stood right in front of the real reason the village was in such terrible shape; the military factory.

"You wanna destroy this factory?" Aang questioned.

"Yes." Katara answered. "Sokka and the others we're kidding, but they we're right. Getting rid of this factory is the only way to help these people permanently."

"Plus, who doesn't love destroying stuff, am I right?" Mikey joked.

"I'm all for helping these people; but if we take down this factory, we'll be attracting a lot of attention, which is something we really don't want right now." Leo reminded.

"Bro relax, we already thought about that." Mikey assured. "Besides, you heard what Dock said. The Fire Lord's new partner, AKA Shredder, is having even _more_ metal made as part of some kind of big project. What ever bucket-head has cooking up, it can't be good."

"No argument there, but this probably isn't the only factory Shredder has working for him." Leo told them. "We may help the villagers, but we wont stop whatever Shredder's planning."

"Maybe not, but we can slow him down." Katara replied.

"I'm in." Aang stated. "What about you Leo?"

All eyes we're on him as he sighed and gave a determined look. "Lets bring this place down."

* * *

The four entered the factory. They stood at the center of it and saw no one was inside; perfect. They quickly got to work.

Leo hopped onto a railing, which hung several vats of molten steel. He took out one of his katanas and ran, as he sliced downward, causing the vats to fall and spill their contents on the floors below.

Mikey responded in kind by jumping up and throwing several shurikens, severing several more vats. He quickly landed in-between several pipes and took out his nunchucks. He swung hard and broke all the pipes, causing steam to pour out of all of it as these we're likely coolant tubes.

Aang landed on the floor in between a network of pipes and used Earthbending to erect a large platform to rise up and break up all the pipes and tubes that he was nearby.

Katara stood by several windows and made several stances; causing all the polluted water from the river to come in and begin flooding the factory.

As the group worked, multiple explosions could be seen from outside the factory as it all fell apart and became useless. The waste stopped flowing into the river as Leo, Aang, Katara, and Mikey all ran out and back towards their campsite.

* * *

The sun was rising as the four we're on their way back to the campsite. Katara and Mikey had ditched their disguises. Aang was still quite excited over what they just did.

"Ha ha! Pwoosh!"

Mikey tapped Aang's head. "Quiet, if Sokka woke up, we'd never hear the end of it."

Leo looked around the corner. "Too late for that."

The group looked in surprise to see Sokka, Don, Raph, and Toph fully awake. Aang, Katara, and Mikey straighted up quickly, trying to act innocent.

"Hi guys." Katara tried. "We we're just uh... going out for sparring."

"Oh really?" Sokka scoffed. "Sparring?!" He took out Katara's sleeping bag just as Raph took out Mikeys and they dumped out all the dead grass.

Aang and Katara held their heads in shame, as they knew they we're caught, while Leo and Mikey merely sighed.

"I know you're the Painted Lady!" Sokka pointed an accusing finger at them. "I also know Mikey's been helping you, the two have you have been sneaking out at night! And I know that you've been lying about Appa and feeding him purpelizing tongue berries!"

Raph pointed at Toph as she stuck out her purple tongue and held the bag of berries in her hand, which Momo began eating.

"I knew we should have thrown those away." Mikey grunted.

"I'd be pretty mad right now." Raph began. "If I wasn't so damned impressed." He finished with a smile.

Aang, Katara, Leo, and Mikey looked quite surprised while Sokka looked in a mixture of shock and partial anger.

"It wasn't hard to assume Mikey was playing super hero again, and using Waterbending to pose as a River Spirit was actually quite clever." Don admitted. "Let me guess, 'Turtle Titan' again?"

Mikey chuckled. "Got it one bro."

"Are you kidding me?!" Sokka exclaimed to the two Turtles. "What they did was put our whole mission in jeopardy!"

"We can make up the time." Raph dismissed. "I think they did something pretty cool. Plus it is kinda funny that you never once suspected it was them." Raph snickered, as did Toph wile the two fist-bumped.

Sokka groaned. "I hate you, you know that right?"

Raph shrugged. "Eh, I can live with that."

"Either way, we're leaving right now!" Sokka exclaimed before he turned to the Avatar and oldest Ninja Turtle. "And how long did you two know about this?!"

"Hey, I just found out this morning!" Aang defended.

"I knew from the moment they started." Leo replied. "It wasn't that hard."

Sokka was about to argue, but realizing he was pretty much the only one who didn't figure it out sooner, he grumbled as he set to pack everything up.

* * *

A Foot Ninja walked through the smoke of the destroyed factory and had his eyes set on the village below in the murky water. He gave a glare in that direction, believing that they we're the ones responsible.

* * *

The group was just about finishing packing up their supplies when they heard the sounds of motors running.

"Now what?" Leo questioned as they went to see what was going on.

At least a dozen jet-skis, all piloted by Foot Ninja, rode through the polluted river, heading directly to the village. The Turtles and Team Avatar saw this from the cliffside of their campsite.

"Oh shell." Raph cussed.

"What's going on?" Toph asked.

"Foot soldiers are heading toward the village." Aang replied.

"And they do not look happy." Don added.

Sokka gave a glare to the obvious suspects. "What did you two do?"

"We… kinda… might have possibly… destroyed the factory." Mikey stuttered.

"You did what?!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Hey, it was _your_ idea!" Katara defended.

"I was joking!" Sokka exclaimed back. "I even said to use Spirit Magic and made funny noises!" He quickly face-palmed as Katara and Mikey both rolled their eyes. "Did you two even think this through?! The Foot are gonna blame the villagers! They're heading there right now to get revenge!"

"What the shell we're we supposed to do, huh?!" Mikey questioned.

"Leave! Do nothing!"

That was the last straw. "NO!" Katara exclaimed. "I will never, _ever,_ turn my back on people who need me!"

"That goes double for me to!" Mikey exclaimed as well. "Guys who hurt innocent people are bad, but guys who abandon those who need help are even _worse!"_

Raph, Don, and even Leo we're surprised at their younger brother for speaking like this, it was rare for Mikey to get serious like this. Sokka had speechless look on his face, but Mikey wasn't finished.

"Right now Sokka, I don't know who's worse." The youngest turtle continued. "The Fire Nation and the Foot for making that factory, or you who'd abandon those people whom they are slowly killing!"

"He's right." Katara agreed as the two stood up. "We're both going down to the village, and we are doing whatever we can."

"Hang on guys." Leo spoke up as he walked towards them. "I'm coming to, I helped to destroy that factory to, I'm just as responsible."

"Count me in to." Raph stated as well. "Ain't no way you guys are pounding Foot goons without me."

Katara gave a sincere smile, as did Mikey. "Thanks guys." The Waterbender thanked. "At least there are _some_ people we can count on." She said, giving a not-so-subtle glare to her older brother.

The group then began to walk down the cliffside. Sokka looked down for a second before getting up. "Wait, I'm coming to."

"This is a bit of a surprise." Raph stated.

"I thought you didn't want to help." Katara recalled as she turned around.

"Or even cared for that matter." Mikey added.

"If you guys are all going down there, who am I to just sit by and watch?" Sokka began. "Besides." He turned to his sister. "You need me, and I'll never turn my back on you."

Katara's mood softened. "Sokka, you really do have a heart." The two Water Tribe siblings hugged each other.

"A small one, but still you got one." Raph had to admit.

Aang had small tears come down his eyes as Don and Toph joined up with them. "He really does have a heart, doesn't he?"

Don and Toph both had the same idea as they comically shoved the young Airbender down with their shoulders.

"Oh by the way…" Mikey began. "I actually did think this through. I kinda had a feeling something like this would happen."

"Wait…wait… wait." Raph stuttered. " _You_ thought this through."

"Yep." Mikey replied. "And believe it or not, I actually have a plan."

The group was pretty surprised by this, especially Leo. "Okay, that scares me."

* * *

 _The village_

A dozen Foot Ninja we're on the wooden village as they rounded up all the villagers and gathered them all together. The leader Ninja stepped forward.

"We we're told that you we're neighbors with the ones who previously owned that factory." The ninja leader began. "People who could live in peace, but I guess they we're wrong. It was bad enough you stole all our food and medicine, but now you destroyed the factory?!"

"We didn't do any of that!" Dock defended before ducking back down and popping back up as Xu. "Yeah, the Painted Lady brought us food! She's the one that healed our sick, not our medicine!"

"Right, right, your little 'Santa Clause', the Painted Lady helped you." The Foot leader scoffed as he held a little Painted Lady figurine. He took a look at a container. "And I suppose she drew this country's army brand on your containers to." He threw it at the container causing it to shatter.

The citizens began to look quite scared. "Trash, that's all you are!" The Foot leader began. "Not just those in this back-water village, but everyone in this filthy country! All you Fire Trash are nothing more than filthy rats fighting for scraps!" He turned to his squad of Foot ninja. "Tear this village apart! Wipe the world clean of all this garbage!"

" _Just as our master will cleanse this whole world."_ Those we're his thoughts he kept to himself.

With that, the squad got to work. A ninja rode on a jet ski as a back-passenger held a grappling hook and threw it around a support for a house before pulling it down, tearing the mast and letting the house fall into the water. Two Foot ninja walked forward with flame-throwers and pointed them towards two containers of food and medicine on the water. They sent streams of flame to set it ablaze, but a gust of wind put out the fire quickly.

The Foot leader looked in surprise to see this. The two tried to light it up again, only for another gust of wind to blow it out.

"Light it again!"

They tried to light it, but a larger gust of wind knocked both the flamethrowers back on the other side of the docks. Just as the two we're about to recover, two pairs of green hands reached from the water below and pulled the two ninja down into it.

The leader noticed this. "What happened?! Where are they!?" He looked to the terrified citizens.

An eerie fog began to form off the side of the river as an animal-like groan was being herd, along with an eerie flute-like sound.

"It's the Painted Lady." A little boy whispered. "She's coming."

"There is no Painted Lady!" The Foot Leader exclaimed.

The fog then completely covered the entire village as the sound of large stomping was added to the eerie sounds present.

* * *

From a safe distance, in a concealed cave; Toph was using Earthbending on a giant rock, which she was bringing up and down upon the floor, with Appa giving the groans behind her; and Sokka playing the eerie flute music with an actual flute.

* * *

A few Foot Ninja drew their katana blades as they we're becoming a bit nervous.

"What's that sound?"

"Maybe it _is_ her."

"Don't be ridiculous!" The Foot Leader exclaimed. "Go find out what's making that noise, now!"

As he commanded, six of the dozen Foot Ninja walked into the fog with katanas at the ready. It was deathly silent for a few seconds, minus the already present eerie sounds; until the sounds of yelling and screaming we're heard as all six Foot Ninja we're thrown out into the water; and their broken katanas fell in front of the leader.

"Who's there!?" The Foot Leader demanded. "Show yourselves!"

Walking out of the fog we're four figures. They we're clad in black hooded robes. Nothing on them could be seen, not even their faces.

"Identity yourselves at once!" The Foot Leader demanded once more, only for the hooded individuals to remain silent. They simply cleared a bit away from the dock as the fog cleared a bit with them, revealing, much to the surprise of the remaining Foot Ninja, the Painted Lady, standing on the river.

With the illusion of Waterbending, Katara blasted forward at an intense pace straight for the village. She jumped and landed gracefully on the wooden docks. As she landed; the four individuals cleared the way for her and kneeled in her presence.

Dock gave an astonished gasp. "They must be the Painted Lady's servants!"

Meanwhile, Mikey under his hood gave a slight grin as his plan was working. The Turtles, underneath their hoods, had to admit, this was actually a genius plan; even though Mikey thought of it. Leo looked down from his kneeling position, where he made eye-contact with Aang through a crack, who was hiding underneath the docks. Leo gave a wink for Aang to go for it, which he nodded.

"Do something!" The Foot Leader exclaimed to his soldiers as four ninja drew their katanas and slowly made their way to the 'Painted Lady'.

The black, hooded, figures stood up and stood in front of the Painted Lady protectively, only for her to slightly raise her hand. The four seemed to understand as they made bowing gestures and allowed their 'master' to continue forward.

The Four Foot Ninja tried to run towards her with their swords, but she glanced upwards and an air-gust from down below was enough to send them flying off the docks and into the water.

"Stand your ground!" The Foot Leader commanded his reaming two soldiers. "Spirit or not, all things die. Kill it!"

The last two soldiers slowly, and quietly, went towards the Painted Lady with katanas unsheathed. In direct response, the Painted Lady (with the use of Waterbending) created a massive gyser on the right side of the docks from the water, causing two of the jet skis to raise up; much to the Foot's surprise. She then gestured forward and sent both Jet Skis flying towards the cliff on the other side of the village, and they exploded upon impact.

So caught by surprise at this, the two Foot grunts failed to notice two of the hooded individuals run forward. One of them gave a fierce roundhouse that sent the his ninja flying into the water, this was Raph who gave a slight smirk; while the other one, revealed to be Don, made a palm-thrust, that sent the last Foot off the docks. The two jumped back towards the Painted Lady.

The Foot Leader had enough of this as he picked up a stranded flame-thrower. "I'll kill you myself!"

It was a heated-stare down before the Foot Leader sent a stream of fire from his flame-thrower straight towards the Painted Lady. Acting fast, Aang inhaled a great deal of air. Just before flames could make contact, a massive dome of air blew back all the flames and sent the Painted Lady straight upwards. The Foot Leader covered his face, giving Aang the opportunity to send a vertical airwave to blast the Foot Leader off the docks.

The Foot Leader skidded across the polluted water before finally sinking. He surfaced just to see the Painted Lady suddenly appear before him.

"Leave this village and never come back!"

The terrified ninja swam for his life just as jet-ski came up to him. He got on and all the Foot rode off away from the village. Katara gave a faint smile.

* * *

Toph and Sokka rowed back into town via boat to hear all the grateful cheers and claps. They got on, along with Aang to see the hooded Turtles standing back, letting the 'Painted Lady' land on the docks and receive praises from the villagers.

"I knew you would come." The little boy said.

"Thank you!" A villager praised.

"Painted Lady, you and you're buddies there are the best!" Another villager praised as well.

Dock walked up close to her. "Me and my brothers really owe you a lot." However, Dock's smile vanished when he got a close look at her. "Hey, wait a minute, I know you! You're not the Painted Lady, you're that colonial girl!" Katara felt her face and her make-up was fading.

" _Oh crud."_ Mikey thought.

"Yeah, your that lady who gave me a fish." The little boy added.

"You've been tricking us!" Dock realized. "You're a Waterbender!"

"She's a Waterbender!"

"How dare you pretend to act like our Painted Lady!"

Several more angry rants we're given, it wouldn't be long before this could turn into an angry mob. But before it could start, a certain someone spoke up.

"Hey, shut up! All of you!" Mikey exclaimed, silencing the surprised villagers. "In case you didn't notice, her 'Painted-Lady' act just scared away all the bad guys!"

"Got that right!" Raph defended as well. "She just risked her neck out for you and this is the thanks you're gonna give her!?" He angrily exclaimed

Sokka walked up right next to Mikey and Raph to. "They're right, she may be a Waterbender but that's not the point! Thanks to her, and all of them…" Sokka gestured to the hooded Turtles' as well. "The factory won't be polluting your river and those Foot-creeps are gone!"

"You ungrateful jerks should be kissing her feet right now, thanking her!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Guys, its okay." Katara told all three of them before she walked forward and took off her hat. "I shouldn't have acted like someone I wasn't and I shouldn't have tricked you. But, I felt like I had to do something. It doesn't matter if the Painted Lady is real or not, because your problems are real, and this river is real." Katara briefly turned to Leo. "Someone wise once said that you can't wait for Superman to come and save you, you have to save yourselves."

Leo gave a slight smile of approval underneath his hood.

The villagers we're calmed down after all this. "She's right." Dock realized. "But what should we do?"

Raph was the only one who noticed Toph pop up in the crowd. "Maybe we can clean the river!" She said in a fake voice, causing Raph to smirk.

"Yeah, we can clean the river!" Dock exclaimed with joy. The citizens all began to cheer gratefully before they left to get to work. Dock walked up to the young heroes and hooded Turtles.

"Thank you, you know, you're not so bad for a Waterbender."

"You wouldn't mind keeping that a secret by the way, would you?" Don asked.

"No problem." Dock replied. "Keeping my mouth shut is a personal specialty. My brother Xu on the other hand, heh, he's a blabber-mouth."

Both Raph and Sokka face-palmed when he said that.

"So Dock you gonna help us?" Mikey asked.

"No sir." Dock replied. "I'm gonna get my other brother, Bushi. He loves cleaning rivers."

Dock took off his hat to reveal a straw-hat, which unfolded on top of him. "Alright, I'm Bushi. Lets get some river-cleaning done!"

" _Yep. Definitely MPD."_ Don thought.

While most of the group looked confused, Aang had a knowing smirk on his face. "A-ha! I knew it! I knew you we're the same guy, you're the shop-owner, and the boat-guy."

"Oh, you must be talking about my brothers, Dock and Xu." Bushi replied.

"No I just saw you." Aang defended. "You switched hats and called yourself a different name!"

"Oh, you know who does that? My brother Dock." Bushi leaned in closely. "He's crazy." He said before giving a less-than sane laugh, and walking away.

Katara, Sokka, Raph, Mikey, and Don all had flasturgated looks, while Aang looked like he was about to blow a gasket. Leo put a hand on the young Avatar's shoulder.

"Just let it go Aang, you'll never win." Leo told him as they saw Bushi/Dock/Xu walk off.

* * *

The entire group of heroes and villagers then got to work cleaning the river. The Turtles still had their hooded-robes on for obvious reasons. Don and Leo directed which groups would work where and what places needed the most work. Mikey and Raph helped the villagers with nets separate all the garbage and pollutants from the water. Katara used her Waterbending to lift large amounts of water, while Aang and Toph used Earthbending to separate the impurities from the water. It took the entire day, but with all their help, the river was finally clean.

* * *

 _Later that night._

Leo, Aang, Sokka, Don, Raph, and Toph we're packing up most of their stuff, save for their sleeping bags, as they we're leaving as soon as they woke up tomorrow. Don then looked towards Sokka.

"Sokka, you have to admit, it felt pretty good to help out." Don told him.

"It wasn't like we took down the Fire Lord or Shredder." Sokka replied. "But yeah, it felt pretty good." He said with an honest smile.

"Guess you do care." Raph cracked.

"Kinda like you to, Night Watcher." Aang joked, earning a shocking, irritating expression from the red-clad Turtle.

"Where'd you hear that?!" He exclaimed.

"Night Watcher, huh?" Sokka gave a slight smirk.

"Oh, I'm gonna get a lot of mileage out of this one." Toph said with a smirk himself.

"Leo, Don, help me out here!" Raph turned to his brothers.

"Sorry bro, you're on your own." Leo told him as Don shrugged as well.

* * *

Meanwhile, Katara was by the river as she put her clean hands in the water with a smile on her face. Mikey soon joined her.

"You must feel pretty good, don't ya?" Mikey guessed as he sat down next to her.

"Yeah, I do." She replied before turning to the turtle. "Thanks for your help Mikey, I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem, you're like my sister, and us bros and sis' have to stick together, family and all that." Mikey told her.

Katara was slightly surprised at how Mikey referred to her as his sister, but gave a sincere smile. "Yeah, family."

"So, how do you like the sound of 'The Turtle Titan's new sidekick, the Painted Lady'?" He announced in a dramatic fashion.

"Yeah… I don't think so." Katara replied with a nonchalant grin and a raised-eyebrow.

A small cloud of fog soon approached them. They both looked up in surprise to see a white-clad woman with long black hair and red paint on her face; the real Painted Lady. Mikey and Katara we're both speechless as the spirit gazed upon the young girl and turtle.

"Thank you."

She fell back into the fog and faded away; leaving a smiling Katara. Mikey smiled right after as well. "Well, I'm going to bed. Enough craziness for one day."

* * *

 _Elsewhere_

The metal-armed, three-eyed assassin trekked through a rocky trail alone. He was following the trail of the Avatar, as he was hired to do by a certain, regretful prince. He maintained a stoic look until four figures leapt in front of him.

"Hold it right there." One of them stopped the assassin in his tracks.

The clouds cleared as the moon began to shine and lay light on the individuals that stood in front of the metal assailant.

They we're all large, humanoid, Turtles. The lead turtle had blue skin all over, with a pale-green underbelly. He had a black shell on his back as well as a yellow left eye, with his right eye covered by a tech-like eye patch. He had black pants as well and he carried two large swords. The one behind him was hunchback, with red skin as well as a black shell and pale-green underbelly, as well as yellow eyes. His right arm and right leg we're covered in black sleeve-like clothes, and he appeared to have large, built-in talon-knucklers. The one on the blue one's right stood up straight with purple skin, a black shell and pale-green underbelly and yellow eyes. He also had a long black tail, as well as black pants, built-in metal wrist guards, and sharp claws. The last one was more energetic as he jumped up and down repeatedly. He had yellow skin, a black shell, pale-green underbelly, and orange eyes, as well as a parasitic tongue. He wore a black armored, shoulder spike on his right shoulder; an orange belt diagonally tied across his chest, and carried two double-bladed clubs.

The assassin's stoic expression remained unchanged.

"You're services are no longer acquired bounty hunter." The blue turtle, whose voice was identical to Leo's, told him.

"Yeah, get lost!" The yellow turtle, whose voice was identical to Mikey's added with an evil chuckle.

The metal assassin responded by inhaling and right out of his third eye came a beam, forcing the Dark Turtles to scatter, as it exploded upon the ground they we're previously standing.

"Uh oh. Someone's cranky." Dark Mikey commented.

"Perfect." The red turtle, whose voice was identical to Raph, stated with a sneer. "I was so looking for a fight!"

Dark Raph and Dark Mikey we're the first to jump forward; their respective weapons raised high. The three-eyed assassin jumped back just as their weapons smashed into the ground. Once he jumped back he inhaled and sent another combustion-blast straight at them. The blast hit the ground in front of them and they flew back.

Once they landed Dark Mikey was the first to say something. "Oh… Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Man is a fighter, huh?" He stated with another insane cackle.

The assassin was about to prep another blast before the purple turtle came in and swept him off his feet with his tail. "Combustion blasts, hm? Quite a unique form of Firebending." He said in a voice identical to Don's.

The assassin responded by quickly attacking him with the metal arm, which Dark Don blocked with his wrist guard. Just as he was about to prep another blast, Dark Don kicked him in the chest. "Your technique is powerful, but it is so painfully predictable." He said in a sneer before giving a roundhouse to knock him back.

He struggled to get up, but before he could, a sword from Dark Leo severed his metal arm. "Stay down, final warning."

He gave a glare before shooting upward with another blast, which Dark Leo fell back to avoid. The assassin was slowly getting back up. "We don't have time for this." Dark Leo stated before he ran forward and, with his right sword, slashed at the third-eye tattoo, causing the assassin to hold it in pain as he fell back. His head began to spark quite a bit.

Dark Leo's eyes widened. "Fall back! He's gonna blow!"

The Dark Turtles all jumped away as a massive explosion erupted from the assassin, shaking up the entire area. The smoke cleared to reveal a metal foot was all that's left. The Dark Turtles got up from their cover.

"Oh, Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Man go bye-bye." Dark Mikey cracked.

"That's the lamest name I've ever heard." Dark Raph commented.

Dark Mikey held his chin as his tongue stuck out. "Yeah you're right. It's gotta be shorter, more catchy."

"Enough." Dark Leo announced. "We have a mission to complete." He turned to Dark Don. "How far are we from the Avatar and the Turtles?"

Dark Don looked at the trail. "Given they are on a creature that can fly, it may be a while before we can catch up; but we'll be right ontop of them in a few days if we continue along this route."

"Alright, then lets not waste anymore time, come on." Dark Leo told his evil brothers as they began to walk down the path.

Dark Mikey's eyes soon widened. "WAIT!" He exclaimed, forcing the others to stop.

"What is it?" Dark Raph asked.

"I figured out the perfect name!" Dark Mikey stated with a grin. "'Combustion Man'! Its short, its catchy, and it fits!"

The other three Dark Turtles groaned before they walked down the path, intent on catching up with their unsuspecting prey.

 **Done.**

 **Again, sorry for the long wait. I've got a lot on my plate with my own personal life.**

 **Just to make this perfectly clear; this is the 2003 TMNT series. And yes, I am also using the Dark Turtles from "Fast Forward" (look them up), only these are created by Stockman not Sh'Okanabo. I really wanted to use them, as, next to Shredder, they are my favorite Ninja Turtle villains. And now they have just killed Combustion Man in only a few minutes; while it took Team Avatar three fights to bring him down in the show, our heroes are definitely going to have their work cut out for them.**

 **A lot more suspense will be built up as we continue. I hope you like it, and be prepared for more surprises along the way as Worlds Collide continues.**


	17. Sokka's Master

**Hello all. I apologize for the long wait. As I've probably said before, I do have a great deal of responsibilities with school and work, so finding time to work on my stories is pretty difficult. Thank you all for your patience, and so let Worlds Collide continue.**

 **Sokka's Master**

It was a starry night in the Fire Nation as Team Avatar and the Ninja Turtles laid on a hilltop alongside Appa and watched a meteor shower.

"Dudes…" Mikey dazed. "This is awesome."

"I know, it really is amazing to watch." Katara agreed.

"Kinda makes you realize how insignificant we all are." Sokka awed.

"You think this is good, you should have been in space. Now that was something!" Raph pointed out.

"Still though, the tiny fires emitted from rocks coming in from reentry from the planet's atmosphere do have its visual benefits." Don said.

Toph shrugged. "Eh, you've seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times."

One meteor came by dangerously close towards the area the group rested, causing many of their eyes to widen.

"Damn, you've never not seen anything like that before!" Raph stated as the meteor, covered in blue flames, passed right over them. They got up to see it slam behind a nearby hill and explode.

"That can't be good." Leo said as they saw smoke and orange embers coming from the other side of the hill.

* * *

The group flew on Appa where they got a full view of a large fire from the crater where the meteorite crashed as well as a nearby town.

"That fire is gonna destroy that town!" Katara exclaimed.

"Not if we can stop it!" Aang declared.

Appa set on the ground as Leo began to give orders. "Katara, you fly on Appa toward that creek and bend the water over the fire!" Leo pointed to the creek.

"On it!" Katara stated as she took Appa's reigns and flew towards the creek.

"Raph, Don, Mikey; there's a nearby forest on that hillside just over the fire!" Leo continued. "Help me cut down the front most trees and send them rolling to control the fire." He turned to the youngest benders. "Aang, Toph, use Earthbending to try and block the fire's paths! Once the trees hit the flames, smother them."

"Got it!" Aang stated as he and Toph ran in one direction; and the Turtles ran up towards the hill, leaving behind a certain non-bender.

"What should I do?" Sokka questioned.

The group stopped slightly and saw their pet lemur fly above them. "Keep an eye on Momo." Aang said as the groups ran off.

"So what I'm just a lemur-sitter!?" Sokka complained as Momo landed on his head. "There-there. Feel better?" He said as he patted Momo's head.

Aang and Toph got to work as they got close to the flames and mimicked each other's movements to create a trench and sent a side of it towards the fire to block it's path. In doing so, it created a series of small embers that flew towards Sokka.

Sokka took out his club and began to smother one of the flames as Momo scurried along the ground and quickly patted the others out before Sokka could even get to them, causing him to scowl.

Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey got to a hillside where a small forest of trees was present and immediately took out their weapons. Leo was able to slice at the trunks with his katanas, while Raph used his strength and sais to punch large holes at the base of the trunks and then gave hard kicks to knock them down. Don dug his staff under the roots of the trees and heaved to up-root them while Mikey bashed hard with his nunchucks to cut away at the base of the trees.

Appa flew over a creek, where Katara gathered a large mass of water. As Appa flew back up, Katara bent a massive bubble of water over her and Appa.

The Turtles all gathered together at the pile of broken down trees and pushed as they shoved them down the hill and towards the fire. The trees all rolled over the fire and began to smother a great deal of them. Sokka watched as this happened and as Katara bent some mist from her giant water mass and onto the flames, while Toph and Aang created flat pieces of earth and began to topple over the dead and soon-to-be-flaming trees to smother most of the remaining flames, while Sokka sat down with a jealous scowl.

Appa flew towards Aang as he used his own Waterbending to take the water mass from Katara and prepared an attack.

"Sokka stand clear!" Aang exclaimed.

Sokka unenthusiastically got up and picked up Momo. "Right, stand clear. Got it." He began to slowly walk away.

Leo got right up to the Airbender. "Aang, send the water straight up and throw the coldest blast of air you can make at it! Now!"

Aang did as Leo instructed. He threw the water mass upward and sent a blast of cool air from his mouth, causing it to explode all over the crater and extinguish what was left of the flame. The result was a brief snowfall which covered most of the group.

"That was awesome!" Mikey exclaimed as he fell backwards and made a snow angel.

The group gathered back together. "Nice teamwork everyone." Leo told them.

Sokka's head popped out of the snow, and only Don seemed to notice the look on his face.

* * *

 _Fire Nation prison tower_

Iroh sat in his dark cell, leaning against the wall and slightly drooling as the cell door was opened. The guard came in and purposely dropped a bowl of gruel onto the floor outside the bars before kicking it in. Iroh then rushed towards it and ate it like a starving man would.

The guard looked on with disgust. "Look at you. You're just a fat, disgusting old man. You do nothing, you say nothing; you just eat and roll around in your own filth like a pig. You're a disgrace." He spat in the cell before leaving.

As the door closed, Iroh assumed a more dignified pose. He pulled his hair back and gave a slight mischievous smile before eating the food properly.

* * *

 _Foot Base, Fire Nation capital palace_

Oroku Saki sat on his knees in front of a small table as he drank some sake. Hun kneeled before his master.

"Have my spies managed to locate the Turtles and the Avatar?" Oroku Saki asked.

"Yes Master Shredder." Hun reported. "They will remain well out of range, not even the Turtles, or that Earthbending runt will be able to notice them."

"What of the clones Stockman sent?" Oroku Saki questioned.

"They've dealt with the bounty hunter and should intercept the freaks and brats by the end of the week at the latest." Hun replied.

"Good." Saki said as he put his cup down. "All proceeds as planned."

A Foot technician walked in, carrying a long black case. He kneeled down. "I apologize for entering without permission Master, but Dr. Stockman was able tor receive this from the tech team when they crossed over from the Nexus, and told me to bring it right to you." He presented the case forward.

Oroku Saki walked down towards them and opened the case, inside we're fragments of broken metal as well as what appeared to be a gold and silver sword-handle.

"My greatest weapon now lies in pieces." Oroku Saki began as he picked up the sword-handle. "My plans for the Fire Nation can still continue without it, but it will be necessary when dealing with the Avatar and the Turtles."

"We'll work on repairing it immediately Master." The technician replied as Saki put the handle down.

"Very well, begin immediately, and inform me of any new developments with our enemies." Oroku Saki told him as the technician walked out with the case of sword fragments. He turned to Hun. "Where is Karai?"

"She went out." Hun dismissed.

Oroku Saki began to contemplate as he put his fingers to his chin. "She is showing signs of change. Keep a close eye on her Hun."

"Yes Master Shredder." Hun bowed before leaving.

* * *

 _Local Fire Nation town_

Aang, Toph, and Katara, all bearing their Fire Nation disguises, sat with the hooded-Turtles at a long table with food at a local restaurant.

"These people have no idea how close they we're to getting toasted last night." Aang commented as he sat down.

"Yeah." Toph began. "The worst thing about being in disguise, is we don't get the hero worship anymore."

"Welcome to our world." Leo said with a somewhat amused smile. "We saved our world multiple times and most people don't even notice; which is fine by us."

"You're gonna have to get used to it Toph." Raph told her. "We're all ninjas now. We stick to the shadows."

"The Unsung Heroes of the Urban Jungle." Mikey whispered dramatically, causing Katara to slightly giggle.

"The Silent Protectors of the Way of Bushido." Don added as well.

"What's Bushido?" Katara asked.

"The code of the honor for a samurai." Leo answered.

"Code of honor and sticking to the shadows aside, I still miss the love." Toph slumped.

"Boo-hoo, poor ninjas." Sokka sarcastically said as he sat near the edge with a frowning scowl.

"Well, someone's cranky." Raph pointed out. "What's eating you Pony-Tail?"

"Yeah, you barley touched you're smoked sea-slug." Katara observed.

"If you're not gonna eat it, can I have it?" Mikey asked before Don smacked the back of his head. "Ow!"

"Sokka, what's wrong?" Don asked.

"It's just about half of you can do this awesome flying stuff, like flying around and making other things fly around…" Sokka began. "And the rest of you are walking talking Turtles who can take down even the toughest Firebender and vanish without a trace!" The group looked towards each other as Sokka continued. "I'm not a mutant, or a ninja, I can't fly around or vanish into the shadows, I can't do anything!"

"Ah so that's what this is, you're feeling like the odd one out." Leo deduced.

"But it's not true!" Katara defended her brother. "No one can read a map like you." She told Sokka.

"I can't read at all." Sokka pointed out.

"Yeah, and who keeps us laughing with sarcastic comments all the time?" Aang tried.

"He's about as funny as a dead horse." Raph pointed out only to get elbowed by Katara.

"Guys, look I appreciate the effort, but the fact is each of you is so amazing and so special, and I'm…. not. I'm just the guy in the group who's regular." Sokka mopped.

Don sat down near him. "What's wrong with being regular?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked the purple-clad Turtle.

"Look at me, look at my brothers; we're not normal, but that doesn't always mean special." Don began. "In our world, it usually means 'freak'. People in our world don't bend the elements, so if you're friends we're to show up, they'd be called freaks or monsters, just like the us. You'd be the only one treated normal _because_ you're normal."

Sokka was quite surprised. "I… never thought about it like that."

"And there are people who would kill to be in you're shoes." Don continued. "Humans in our world aren't exactly nice to other humans even, because they are different, or 'abnormal', they don't want to be bullied or harassed and sometimes wish to be considered normal like you. You've got a good thing going here."

Sokka didn't know how to respond to that.

"Are people really like that in your world?" Katara asked Mikey.

"Some, not all, but some." The orange-clad Turtle answered.

"Yeah, our world's no short of hatters." Raph began. "There's even this guy called Bishop who sees himself as a protector of people, but really he's just a xenophobic psycho who thinks humans are threatened by us 'monsters'."

"I already don't like him." Toph growled.

"Why is he like that?" Aang asked

"Like Raph said, some people in our world aren't fond of those who are different, and you remember what we told you about the Triceratons?" Leo reminded.

"Those alien guys who tried to chase a metal man named Professor Honeycutt to build a weapon?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, those guys." Mikey answered. "They invaded Earth and almost destroyed it; while we did stop them, Bishop saw that all aliens and mutants we're threats to humans and wanted to get rid of us all."

Don continued to talk to Sokka. "Getting back to the current subject; you may not be a Bender, and you're jokes are pretty lame, but you've got some pretty good combat skills, and you're a pretty good engineer to." Don placed a hand on his shoulder as he looked towards him. "Don't be ashamed of what you don't have, be proud of what you do."

Sokka smiled. "Thanks Don."

"And I think I know something that can help cheer you up." Katara chimed.

* * *

 _Five minutes later_

"SHOPPING!" Sokka exclaimed with claps as he ran into a weapons-shop with all the others following behind him.

"So, what are you looking for?" Don asked as he was next to him.

"Maybe something to reinvigorate my battling." He spotted something. "Hey about these?" He picked up a pair of nunchucks. "Hey Mikey, you and I can be the same!" He whipped around the nunchucks only to get bonked on the head and fall down with a series of spears on top of him.

"Eh, maybe you should look for something else." Mikey told him as Don helped up Sokka.

Leo was looking at a spear near Katara who was trying on a glove. "Hey guys…" They heard Aang speak up. "What do you think?"

Leo and Katara both turned to see Aang dressed in heavy metal with skulls and demonic-looking armor. "Pretty slick, huh?"

Katara's eyes widened while Leo grimaced. "Not very subtle there Aang. That armor seems more Shredder's style."

"Well I bet Shredder doesn't have a wind-sword." Aang replied somewhat defensively.

"What's a wind-sword?" Katara asked.

"It's where I get a sword-handle, and swing it around and bend air out of it like a blade." Aang took an empty sword-handle and playfully swung it around.

"Aren't you supposed to be a pacifist?" Leo questioned as he wasn't really impressed.

"Yeah… nice." Katara agreed with a sarcastic tone.

Aang then fell backwards from the armor's weight. "I'll just stick with what I got."

"Good idea." Leo agreed.

Raph, Mikey, and Don watched as Sokka was trying out a series of weapons. The first was a spear, which he spun around above his head like a helicopter-blade until it soared out of his hands.

"Nope." Don shook his head.

Sokka struggled to lift a rather heavy club-like weapon. Raph shook his head this time.

"Don't think so." He told Sokka.

This time, Sokka tried a series of swords but looked like a wind-up toy as he used them.

"Nun-uh." Mikey didn't think so.

Sokka spun around a chain until it accidentally wrapped him up completely.

"Do we have to say it?" Raph guessed as he, Don, and Mikey all face-palmed.

Sokka then carried an even longer spear, which bounced up and down as he tried to run with it.

"Okay, now he's just getting desperate." Mikey observed.

Sokka was then picking his teeth out with a sai.

"Hey that's mine!" Raph exclaimed as he angrily took back his sai.

"Sorry." Sokka squealed before he set his eyes on something that made him look in awe. He saw a sword in a frame that had a sheath decorated with a golden dragon. "Ooooh." He took a look at it and liked what he saw. "Now that's what Sokka's talking about."

"You have a good eye." The shop-owner said as he and everyone else stepped closer. "That's an original from Piando, the greatest sword-master and sword-maker in Fire Nation history. He lives in the big castle up the road from here." He then resumed his sweeping.

Leo looked at the sword as he took it out of the sheath. "Hmmm, impressive." Leo began to handle it and get a feel for it. "Not to heavy, not to light; well-balanced, this is a really good sword."

That's when Aang had an epiphany. "That's it! That's what you needed all along Sokka!"

"A sword?"

"Not the sword, a master." Aang corrected as Leo handed Sokka the sword. "We've all had masters to help us get better, you should see if you should study with Piando."

"That's a great idea." Katara agreed. "I couldn't have gotten to where I am without Master Pakku."

"Didn't you say that guy was a sexist jerk?" Mikey asked.

"We managed to work around that; and besides, everyone needs a teacher." Katara replied.

"That's right." Leo agreed. "We wouldn't be anywhere without Master Splinter."

"And even he had a master to learn from, Hamato Yoshi." Don added.

"I learned from badger moles." Toph pointed out. "They don't talk, but they're still good teachers."

"And pretty bad ass from what I've heard of." Raph said as he nudged Toph a little.

Sokka took a moment to look at the sword. "It would be nice to be a master sword-fighter. Kinda like you Leo." Sokka then came to a decision. "Alright, I'll talk to him."

"Good idea." Leo agreed. "Don, why don't you go to see if you can help him out."

"Yeah, sure." Don nodded his head.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Prison Tower_

Iroh was doing a series of sit ups in his cell alone and was on his fiftieth when he heard the cell door open up and quickly laid down to avoid getting caught.

"You got a visitor." The guard said in a rude-tone of voice.

Iroh looked up a bit, expecting to see Zuko, but was shocked that it wasn't him, but in fact was the Foot's strongest swordswoman, Karai. The door closed behind her as the two looked at each other.

* * *

 _Piando's mansion_

Sokka and Don walked up to the large estate that belonged to the Fire Nation's greatest swordsman. Don gave an impressed whistle.

"Nice place."

"Yeah." Sokka agreed. "You know I'm surprised you're coming with me, Don. I was thinking Leo would, considering he's the sword-guy and you've got a staff."

"Well when you get down to it, all weapon-styles have the same basic roots in combat." Don explained. "Besides, Leo said he had something special planned for the others. And I'm here to help my friend, what's wrong with that?"

Sokka smiled. "Thanks again D."

The two walked up to the main door. Sokka grabbed one of the ring handles and knocked with it. He waited only about two seconds before knocking again. Two seconds later he tried to knock on all of them repeatedly until Don put a hand on his shoulder.

"Uh Sokka, you're only supposed to knock once."

"Maybe he didn't hear me." Sokka replied.

"You need to learn patience." Don advised. "That is crucial for any warrior."

A few seconds later, an old and pudgy-looking man in a maroon robe, answered the door, presumably the butler. "Can I help you?"

"I've come to train with the master." Sokka answered.

The butler looked to the hooded-individual. "What of you?"

"I'm just a friend, here to observe." Don answered.

The butler turned back to Sokka. "You should know the master turns almost everyone away. What did you bring to prove you're worth?"

Sokka and Don both looked to each other. "Uh…" They both shrugged.

"Right, lets get this over with." The butler shook his head before leading the two inside.

* * *

The butler led Sokka and Don into the main chambers where Master Piando was working on calligraphy. Don hung back and let Sokka walk forward.

"Master, my name is Sokka and I wish to be instructed in the way of the sword."

"'Sokka' that's an unusual name." Piando mused as he continued to work.

Don grimaced, as did Sokka who tried to come up with an excuse. "Uh.. Really? Where I come from, the Fire Nation colonies, it's a pretty normal name. For Fire Nation colonials!"

Don was tempted to face-palm as this wasn't the best excuse he heard, even Mikey could have come up with better.

Piando continued to work. "Let me guess, you've come from your little village where you're the best swordsman in town, and you think you deserve to learn from the master."

Don could only guess Piando has heard something like that before, from prideful, and probably arrogant, swordsman wanting to train with him.

"Well actually, he's been all over the world." Don pointed out.

"Yep, here we go." Piando got ready for the type of speech he's heard so many times in the past.

"And I know one thing for sure." Sokka got on his knees. "I have a lot to learn."

"You're not doing a good job of selling yourself." Piando observed.

"I know." Sokka continued. "Your butler told me that when I met you I would have to prove my worth, but the truth is, I don't know if I am worthy."

Piando gave an impressed smile. "Hmm, I see." Don could tell from the tone in his voice he was impressed. This is what a master looks for in their students, humility.

Piando stood up with his sword. "Well then, lets find out together how worthy you are." He stood in front of Sokka. "I will train you."

Sokka instantly smiled, even Don had a small grin under his hood.

* * *

A few moments later, Sokka was facing his master on the training grounds of the mansion, with Don watching as he sat on the staircase. Sokka currently wore a dark brown training robe with red pants.

"The first thing you must learn is that you're weapon is an extension of yourself." Piando began as he unsheathed his sword and began to demonstrate. "You must think of it as another part of your own body."

"Like a second head." Sokka guessed, causing Don to give a slight chuckle.

"Well… more like an extra-long, really sharp, arm." Piando corrected. "The sword is a simple tool, but in the hands of a master, it becomes the most versatile of weapons." He continued to demonstrate as he talked. "And just as the imagination is limitless, so to are the possibilities of the sword."

As he continued to talk, Don remembered what Master Splinter told him and his brothers of weapons before. _"In the hands of a true ninjitsu master, anything can be a deadly weapon."_

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the heroes' campsite; Aang, Katara, and Toph laid flat on the ground near the hut where Appa was staying, with nothing to do.

"What should we do today?" Aang wondered.

"I'm tucked out." Toph replied. "I already picked my toes, twice."

"Twice?" Aang questioned as Momo came and lay near them.

"The first time is for cleaning, but the second time is just for the sweet picking sensation." Toph explained.

"Sokka was in charge of the schedule, till Raph burnt it up, I'm not sure what we should do." Katara said.

"I know what you guys are gonna do." Leo told them as he, Raph, and Mikey walked towards them without their hooded robes. "We're gonna train you guys."

The Benders got up with surprised looks on their faces. "Train us?" Aang asked. "How? You guys don't bend."

"No, but we are gonna teach you some ninjitsu." Mikey told them.

"You're gonna teach us ninjitsu?" Katara questioned, quite surprised.

"Why would we do that, when we can just blow away anyone with bending?" Toph questioned as well.

"Because we're going up against the Shredder, kid." Raph replied. "Last time you guys went up against him; you fell in five seconds and Aang almost bit the big one."

"Don't remind us." Aang replied as he held his chest where his scar was from where Shredder stabbed him.

"You know, maybe learning some ninjitsu might be a good idea." Katara thought as they stood up.

"Seriously?" Toph questioned.

"If we're serious about going up against Shredder, it wouldn't hurt to learn some new ways to defend ourselves if we end up fighting him again." Katara explained.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Raph pointed out.

Aang thought about it and realized they had a point. "Alright, show us what you guys know."

"Okay, so we'll pair off." Leo began. "One Turtle, one Bender. Aang you're with me; Katara with Mikey, and Toph with Raph."

"Ooooh, this should be fun." Toph said with a grin alongside Raph.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Prison Tower_

Iroh stared at Karai as she sat down. He did not expect to see someone belonging to the Foot visit him. He was expecting this to be some form of interrogation, but attained a look of surprise as Karai presented a cup of steaming tea.

"Hello, General Iroh." Karai greeted. "I heard of your habit with tea, I thought I should present some as this prison likely won't present any."

She handed Iroh the cup and he hesitantly took it and looked at it for a bit. "It is not poisoned, nor is there any type of serum inside it, I assure you." Karai told him.

Iroh then took a small sip. A small smile formed on his face. "Not bad. It could use a little more jasmine."

Karai gave a slight grin.

"Thank you." Iroh told her with an honest smile. "May I ask you you're name, young lady?"

"I am Karai."

"Hmm, 'Karai', such a lovely name for a pretty girl." Iroh mused, while Karai gave an amused eye-roll. "So tell me, why have you come all this way to visit an old man such as myself?"

"I heard tales of this 'Dragon of the West' and I was interested in learning more." Karai explained. "I heard you're Firebending was one of the greatest this nation has ever seen."

"And you wonder how such a powerful warrior ended up in the state that he is now?" Iroh guessed.

Karai was mildly surprised as Iroh got it in one, but was even more surprised when Iroh gave a slight laugh.

"Yes, I get that a lot." Iroh then looked towards Karai, he could tell there was something special about her. "If you wish to know, then I will tell you. It is a long story however…"

Karai made a gesture for him to continue as she began to listen to his tale.

* * *

 _Piando's estate_

Don continued to observe as Sokka and Piando we're inside at a table with paper and ink. Don could only guess what they we're doing as he did the same thing with Master Splinter when he was younger.

"The warrior practices with a variety of arts to keep his mind sharp and fluid." Piando began as he presented the paper. "The first you will learn is calligraphy." He presented Sokka with a brush. "Write you're name."

"Writing my name will make me a better swordsman?" Sokka questioned as he held the brush by the brush itself. Piando readjusted it in his hand.

"When you write you're name, you stamp the paper with your identity." Piando explained. "You must learn to use your sword to stamp your identity on the battlefield."

Sokka dipped the brush in the ink and was about to write his name. "Remember." Piando interrupted. "You cannot take back the stroke of the brush, or a stroke of the sword."

Sokka then got a little bit more nervous. He held the brush close to his face as he began to think.

"Uh Sokka, you have ink on your face." Don pointed out.

"I do?" Sokka wondered than got an idea. "I do!" He turned to his teacher. "So this about putting my identity on the page, right?"

Piando nodded. Sokka then painted ink all over his face and pressed it straight down on the paper, much to Don's surprise. He and Piando looked as Sokka rubbed his face on the paper. He then presented it to Piando, as the picture looked like a Rorschach.

Don gave a nervous laugh, while Piando simply closed his eyes without judgment.

* * *

Sokka was in padded armor with a wooden sword, and faced the butler who was also in padded armor with his own wooden sword as the two we're about to spar with Piando and Don both watching them.

Sokka tried to thrust forward, but the butler used his wooden sword to knock the one Sokka was using out of his hand before he comically chased Sokka and hit him with the wooden sword. One swipe of his feet knocked Sokka flat on his face.

Don got down and helped Sokka get up. "You need to hold you're weapon with a tighter grip." He told Sokka.

* * *

Piando led Sokka, who had a blindfold on, with Don following close behind, through a field.

"Landscape painting teaches a warrior to hold the lay of the land in his mind." Piando explained. They stopped and he spun Sokka so he would face a certain direction. "In battle, you only have an instant to take everything in."

Sokka looked in awe at the beautiful landscape, which was present with a large waterfall and a series of grassy cliffs. A second later, Piando put a hand on Sokka's head and turned him around to a piece of paper on the ground.

"Now paint it." Piando instructed. Sokka was about to turn his head around. "And no peeking." Piando turned Sokka's head back to the paper. He then turned to Don. "No helping, either."

Don simply nodded.

About half-an-hour passed as Don sat meditatively on the ground and Piando faced the landscape with his eyes closed as Sokka continued to paint.

"I'm finished!" Both Don and Piando looked at what Sokka had painted. It looked like something a five-year old would do; complete with a rainbow and a sun with a smiley face.

"You added a rainbow." Piando observed.

"And when does the sun smile?" Don guessed.

"Is that okay?" Sokka wondered.

Piando sighed and rolled his eyes while Don face-palmed. He then stood up and put Sokka in some sort of shoulder lock. "Sokka, you don't ask 'is that okay' to the teacher. If you're satisfied with it, then that's all."

* * *

Back at the courtyard, Sokka once again sparred with the butler with wooden swords. This time he was more on par and had a tighter grip on his sword, as Don advised. As he blocked a strike though…

"Sokka." Piando called out, getting Sokka's attention.

Don grimaced as he watched the butler give a roundhouse and knock Sokka down. Don knew what this lesson was: Don't get distracted.

"Concentrate on what you're doing." Piando advised as Sokka gave a thumbs-up in understanding and planted his face on the ground.

* * *

Piando led Sokka and Don to his rock garden at the lower levels of his estate.

"Rock gardening teaches a warrior to manipulate his surroundings and use them to his advantage." Piando explained as they walked down a set of stairs to the rock garden.

Sokka began to contemplate. "Hmmm, manipulate them to my advantage." He had an epiphany. "Oh!"

Don and Piando both watched as Sokka ran into the garden. They both looked somewhat surprised to see Sokka roll a large boulder to one particular part of the garden. Sokka then felt along a sheet of grass and once he found what he was looking for, he took it and put it on the boulder with a rock underneath.

Sokka then gave a sigh as he lied down on the boulder with a smaller rock for a footstool, the sheet of grass to make it more comfortable, and a tree over him to provide him with shade.

Don couldn't help but chuckle, while Piando looked amused. The butler saw this and his jaw dropped with a red face, causing Don to chuckle even more.

"Hey, would you mind grabbing a cool drink for me?" Sokka told the butler.

"I'll have one to." Don also asked.

The butler turned to Piando with his face still red and jaw dislodged. "I'll take a slice of lemon in mine please."

The butler sighed in defeat as he went to get the three drinks.

* * *

Don continued to watch as Sokka sparred with the butler once more. This time, Sokka was more focused and had a better grip on his wooden sword. He was able to parry each attack almost instantly, and went on the offensive with multiple jabs. Once the butler raised his wooden sword, Sokka thrusted his to the butler's hand and was able to disarm him and pointed his sparring weapon toward the butler's face before turning back to Piando and making a bow.

Don gave a nod of approval while Piando drank from his drink with the lemon slice.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Prison Tower_

"After what had happened, I just lost all motivation. I could not go on. So I abandoned the Siege of Ba-Sing-Se, which is the main reason my fame turned to shame." Iroh finished telling his story to Karai.

Karai looked with great sympathy as Iroh told her everything. "I… I am sorry for the loss of your son."

"Thank you very much Karai." Iron thanked. "So tell me, why are you so eager to learn much about me?"

Karai got serious. "When I first came to your world, I had heard the Fire Nation was the greatest empire in history. It is true that they have a strong military force, but I have yet to see anything that could aspire greatness; this world is plagued with horrors as people die everyday from this war, and the Fire Nation continues to attack even though their enemy is down. There is no honor in any of this."

"I couldn't possibly agree with you more." Iroh responded. "After the loss of my son, I took the time to think. Much like everyone else, I had believed the Fire Nation was a great and glorious empire; and make no mistake, there was indeed a time when the Fire Nation was great and it did understand honor and courage, but it also understood humility and compassion." Iroh's face grimaced. "However, I soon realized that after my grandfather Sozin came into power, he had forsaken honor in the pursuit of power; and so the _true_ Fire Nation had vanished, and in its place was an empire of darkness and hate."

"In Ba-Sing-Se, Azula told me there is no honor in this war, there is only win or loose." Karai recalled.

"Do not listen to my niece; she was raised mostly by her father, my younger brother Ozai, and was taught to value power over everything else." Iroh explained. "Now may I ask you a question?"

"Of course." Karai replied.

"The clan you serve, it is called the Foot, and its leader is this Shredder-character, correct?" Iroh asked.

"Yes, that is true."

"I may not have known him personally, but from what I saw of him in Ba-Sing-Se, he to seems to only value power; as do much of the Foot." Iroh said. "But you're not like them, you value honor, and you have compassion as well. So, why does someone like you, serve someone like the Shredder."

Karai sighed before answering. "He is my father."

Iroh's eyes slightly widened. "Ah, I see. Loyalty to a parent. That I know all too well."

She looked away slightly as Iroh continued. "Karai, I understand loyalty to a parent myself, however, your entire life should not be devoted to their service. You live, that gives you the right to determine your own path; it is your choice what road you take, no one else's."

Karai grimaced as Leonardo once told her something similar. _"Master Splinter says we are free to decide our own paths, that our lives or dictated by our choices."_

"I am not here to decide for you what it is you should do, Karai." Iroh continued. "You do what you believe your heart tells you."

"He is still my father." Karai continued. "I am in his debt and his service. I must help him."

Iroh gave a slight laugh, causing Karai to glare slightly. "I am sorry, I do not mean any offense." Iroh explained. "You sound much like my nephew."

"Zuko."

"Yes." Iroh continued. "I can tell you two have much in common; you both have an internal struggle, while thinking you must obey your respective fathers and that only they can bring you honor. There is nothing wrong with having your own will and thoughts. As I said before, because you live, you have the right to decide your own path. I can tell you care much for him."

Karai looked down slightly. "Yes. I know Zuko has a struggle, deep inside."

Iroh remembered to when Zuko visited him and told him that Shredder threatened to kill everyone he knew if he didn't help him back in Ba-Sing-Se; so it wasn't all his fault.

"Well whatever the reason, I am confident he will make the right choice, with a friend like you to help him." Iroh expressed with a smile, while Karai returned with her own smile. "However, I believe it may be best for you not to visit me again."

To say Karai was surprised would have been an understatement.

"Do not get me wrong, this has truly been a lovely afternoon." Iroh told her. "But, I am still considered a traitor to my country, and should my brother or your father learn of this visit, they may believe I am plotting with you; for your sake, I suggest that you leave."

Karai nodded. "I understand. And thank you as well. This has answered quite a few questions I have had."

"But not all of them, I am guessing." Iroh guessed as Karai stood up and was about to walk out. "Karai, I ask only one thing. Look after Zuko, help him with whatever struggles he is having; as he will also help you with the struggle you are having as well."

Karai said nothing as she walked out of the cell and closed the door behind her. Iroh smiled. "What a nice lady." He then got on the ground and began to do a series of sit-ups.

* * *

 _Team Avatar/Ninja Turtle campsite_

Leo and Aang circled each other as they both had martial art stances and looked with determined glares. Before anyone can do anything however, Mikey was sent flying towards a rock and landed hard with a grunt. All turned their attention to Katara in her own martial art-stance.

"How was that Mikey?" She asked with a confident smile.

Mikey groaned as he got up with his own smile. "I think you're really getting the hang of the Winged-Monkey-Style Katara."

"There's no such thing as 'Winged-Monkey-Style'." Leo corrected. "That was a basic hip-throw." He turned to Katara. "Just be sure to keep your arm straight on the release."

"Quit playing back-seat-sensei Leo!" Mikey exclaimed. He turned to Katara slightly. "Just uh… keep that arm straight." He told her with a wink, causing Katara to give an amused smile.

Aang then turned back to Leo. "So, you we're teaching me this…. Akido?"

"Yep, let your opponent expand his energy." Leo confirmed. "Now come at me Aang, but no bending this time."

"Okay." Aang then charged forward and began to make a series of punches, with Leo blocking and avoiding all of them as he talked.

"Imagine a river; trees, boulders, even mountains may stand in its way." Leo taught as he avoided more of Aang's punches and kicks. "But the water continues to flow." Aang comes in for a punch only for Leo swerve to the right and let Aang tumble a bit before he gets back up and starts punching again, only for Leo to parry all of them. "Patient, persistent, water finds a way around, eventually wearing down any obstacles in its path." Aang had to catch his breath. "Until only the water remains." Leo pushed Aang's head slightly with his finger, causing him to stumble back as Katara caught him.

"Get it?" Mikey told Aang. "Be the water. Go with the flow, let the other dude waste his energy. Then give em the old ninja-noogie!" He put Aang in a head-lock and gave him a noogie, causing him to laugh along with Katara.

Aang got out of the grip. "Yeah okay, I think I get it."

Katara looked around for a bit. "Hey, where are Toph and Raph?"

There was a loud explosion from one side of the hill.

"That answer you're question?" Leo questioned.

"Leave it to Raph and Toph to take things to an extreme." Mikey joked.

* * *

 _Piando's estate_

Sokka kneeled with his master in the courtyard as Don leaned against the wall watching them.

"You've had a good first day of training." Piando told his student.

"I have?" Sokka questioned. "But I thought I messed up on every single thing we've worked on."

"You mess things up in a very special way." Piando explained. "You are ready for a real sword."

Sokka gave an enthusiastic smile with an excited gasp. ""You giving him one of yours?" Don asked Piando.

"No." Piando answered before turning back to Sokka. "You're sword must be an extension of yourself. So tomorrow, you will make your own sword." Sokka and Don then both shared smiles.

* * *

The three we're in Piando's metallurgy shop looking for the metal to construct Sokka's sword.

"Choosing the correct material is the most important step in crafting a sword." Piando explained to Sokka. "You must trust your steel with your life, choose carefully."

Sokka took several metal bricks and began to 'examine' them; though Don found it odd when Sokka tried to bite one. Sokka then looked towards Don as he thought of something.

"Hey Don, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Don realized what Sokka's idea was. "Well, that should be interesting."

Sokka turned back to Piando. "Master, would it be possible for me to leave and bring back a special material for my sword?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Piando replied with a smile.

* * *

 _Heroes' Campsite_

Toph and Raph walked back to the others, both covered heavily in dust.

"I take it you guys had fun." Leo guessed.

"You can definitely say that." Raph replied as he spat out a pebble. "Kid knows how to throw down." He ruffled Toph's hair.

"And you can take _a lot_ of damage, for a turtle." Toph replied as she punched Raph's arm and he chuckles.

Aang and Katara both looked nervous while Leo and Mikey shook their heads with grins. Toph's feet soon picked up some familiar footsteps.

"Sokka and Don are back!"

The group looked to see the purple-clad Turtle and Water Tribe warrior walk back to the campsite.

"Well look who's back." Mikey greeted as everyone walked forward.

"How was sword training?" Leo asked.

"It went really well." Don answered. "He's pretty good."

"Really?" Raph joked. "I'd thought he'd mess up badly."

Sokka laughed a bit. "Yeah, no. I mess things up in a very special way."

"Its nice to have you guys back." Katara told them.

"Thanks guys." Sokka replied. "But I could use your help with something."

The group came towards the crater where the meteorite from the previous night crashed and they saw the aforementioned rock at the very center of it, still intact.

"This should be good." Don said with his arms crossed.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Royal Garden_

Karai was practicing her swordsmanship in the garden. She swung with grace and precision that would put any master swordsman to shame. After a series of swings she kicked a nearby tree as a series of leaves fell. With multiple precise slices of her swords, the leaves we're reduced to tiny pieces as they fell all around her in a complete circle. Karai sighed as she sheathed her swords back. She soon felt a familiar presence behind her.

"What do you want, Hun?"

The Shredder's right-hand-man stepped forward. "Where have you been Karai? The Master does not appreciate you're absence lately."

"My personal business is none of your concern Hun, now if you wouldn't mind, I suggest you leave me." Karai told him as she sat down to meditate near the Turtle-Duck pond.

"If you're hiding something we will find out." Hun told her. "The Master, as you know, as his ways."

"You are more persistent than Azula, now leave, I will not ask you a third time." Karai stated.

"Oh now that's hurtful, comparing me to that spoiled brat." Hun growled. "Fine, I'll go. Just be sure of where you're allegiances lie."

Hun left and allowed Karai to meditate, and to think of her visit with Iroh.

* * *

Back with our heroes; Leo, Aang, Don, Sokka, Raph, Katara, and Mikey pushed the meteorite while Toph helped to steady it with Earthbending to keep it from sliding. They managed to push it all the way back to Piando's estate.

Mikey whistled. "Nice digs."

Sokka knocked on the door and Piando answered it almost immediately.

"Who's this?" He asked, referring to everyone else that was with Sokka.

"Oh, these are my friends, just other good Fire Nation folk." Sokka answered. Piando bowed to them as most bowed back. "Do you think we can make a sword out of a meteorite?"

"We'll make a sword unlike any other in the world."

* * *

From there, Sokka immediately got to work in Piando's forge; with Don doing what he could to help, but he allowed Sokka to do the majority of the work as it was his sword, as Sokka requested. While Sokka shoveled some coal into the furnace, Don and the Butler worked to extract the ore from the meteorite. Don placed a nail while the Butler pounded the nail in to crack it open.

Sokka and Don then begin to chip away at the meteorite's outer shell with hammers and picks. Once enough of the ore was gathered, Don placed it in a bucket with Sokka working to maintain the furnace's heat-level.

Don had placed the bucket into the furnace so that the metal ore would melt to a certain point. They waited until nighttime when Sokka extracted the liquid metal from the bucket and placed it into a molding for the sword.

Piando came in at sunrise to still see Sokka and Don working on the sword. Don would help instruct Sokka which parts needed more tuning and where to pound the hammer. Once that was complete Don picked up the red-hot metal blade with a pair of tongs and placed it in water to rapidly cool it.

* * *

Inside the main living area of Piando's estate; Sokka sat on his knees facing Piando with his butler behind him. Behind Sokka, also on their knees we're Don, Leo, Aang, Raph, Toph, Katara, and Mikey.

"Sokka when you first arrived, you we're so unsure, and you even seemed down on yourself." Piando began. "But I saw something in you right away, I saw a heart as strong as a lion-turtle, and twice as big." As Piando talked however, Sokka began to actually look guilty.

Don looked towards Sokka, and even from behind he could tell from the body language what Sokka was feeling. However, Leo could sense something about Piando in the way he was talking, something that all the others we're oblivious to.

"And as we trained, it wasn't your skills that impressed me." Piando continued as he took from the butler the sheathed sword they had constructed. "No it certainly wasn't you're skills."

Sokka looked down, while Raph slightly snickered only to get elbowed by both Don and Katara.

"You showed something beyond that." Piando unsheathed the sword, which was blacker than obsidian, Don couldn't help but take a smirk to that, this sword was more than just a weapon; it was a work of art. "Creativity, versatility, intelligence; these are the traits that define a great swordsman." He resheathed the sword. "And these are the traits, that define you." Piando continued as he presented Sokka the sword.

Sokka took the sword. "You told me you didn't know if you we're worthy. But I believe that you are more worthy than any man I have ever trained." Piando finished.

Leo could tell that Piando was testing Sokka with something; he and Don both shared glances as they could both guess what was about to come next, and they we're right.

"I'm sorry master, you're wrong." Sokka said. This caused some confusion amongst most of his friends, save for Leo and Don. "I am not worthy." Piando raised an eyebrow. "I am not who you think I am. I'm not from the Fire Nation, I'm from the Southern Water Tribe." Aang's jaw dropped with Mikey; Katara grimaced; Raph face-palmed, and Toph hung her head down; while Leo and Don's expressions remained neutral.

"I lied so that I could learn swordsmanship from you." Sokka was about to hand back the sword. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry to." Piando quickly took out his own sword and swung at Sokka, which he ducked out of the way to avoid and blocked the next attack with his own blade.

Aang, Katara, Raph, Toph, and Mikey we're about to get up to help; but Don and Leo both held their hands back to keep them from getting closer. "No." Leo said.

"What?!" Aang and Katara exclaimed at the same time.

"This is Sokka's fight, he has to win it himself." Don told the group.

"You sure about this?" Mikey questioned.

"Yes, I am." Don replied as they looked to the stand off about to take place.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Prison Tower_

The guard came into Iroh's cell with a tray of food. "You used to be the pride of the Fire Nation! Our top general, the Dragon of the West! Now look at you." He purposely dropped the tray and let most of the food spill everywhere, save for a roll which Iroh quickly grabbed. "I don't know what it was that made that Foot-woman so interested in you, because all I see is a disgrace."

The guard left, and did not catch the glare Iroh threw at him for mentioning Karai's name in vain.

Iroh soon stood up and placed the roll in his mouth so he could untie his robe with both his hands. Once the robe fell, it revealed Iroh's well-toned body; complete with muscular arms and a six-pack. As Iroh ate the roll he grabbed one bar with his left hand and began to do a series of one-arm-pull ups.

* * *

 _Foot lab_

The Foot technician worked with the metal fragments brought in for Shredder and had been working the last two days, but had not gotten any results. He grunted in frustration. "What do I have to do to get this repaired?!"

A Foot ninja walked in. "Perhaps I know something that can help." That got the technician's attention. "Our spies have found the Avatar and the Turtles at the estate of a man named Piando, this country's greatest sword-maker. Perhaps he could rebuild the master's weapon."

The technician looked with disgust. "You want our master's weapon to be constructed by Fire-Trash?!"

"If you have another idea, I'm open to it. But we _are_ on a deadline, remember?" The ninja reminded.

"Master Shredder said his plans for the Day of Black Sun could work without the sword." The technician told him.

"Yes, but I believe the master would rather appreciate his weapon being constructed sooner rather than later." The ninja replied.

The technician took a moment to think. "Very well." He placed all the metal fragments within a case and presented a series of blueprints to the ninja. "Once the Turtles and Avatar leave that estate, deliver this to Piando, and make sure he follows these instructions precisely. Pay him however he wishes."

"Understood." The ninja took the case of fragments and blueprints before leaving.

* * *

 _Piando's Estate_

Sokka and Piando faced each other in the courtyard with their respective swords. Leo, Aang, Katara, Don, Raph, Mikey, and Toph watched from the balcony above; most looked with worry, save for Don and Leo.

"How could you guys just let this happen?!" Katara questioned to the two Turtles.

"This is Sokka's fight." Don replied. "He has to win it for himself. If we jump in and rescue him, his pride will be in even worse shape than before."

"You sure about this? I mean this _is_ Sokka we're talking about." Raph reminded.

"Yeah, hard to get passed that." Mikey added.

"One thing is for certain, Piando won't kill him." Leo stated. "He may bruise him a bit, but not kill."

"How do you know?" Aang questioned.

"Call it a ninja's intuition."

They then watched as the sword-battle began.

Piando was the first to attack with a thrust, putting Sokka on the defensive as he blocked the attacks with his black sword. Sokka attempted to thrust, but Piando swerved his head and went back on the offensive, forcing Sokka to block each attack. Sokka tried to thrust forward, but Piando swerved once again and pushed Sokka back with his hands.

Sokka slid back towards the bridge over the small creek and quickly stood up, using the bridge's beam to support himself. He quickly got onto the wall of the bridge, and jumped to the other side to avoid a straight thrust from Piando. Once on top, Sokka jumped and bounded from one end to the other, avoiding and blocking all of Piando's attacks. He jumped back to the other side of the bridge to gain some distance.

"Excellent." Piando stated. "Using your agility against an older opponent, smart." He then attacked again.

"So far so good, Sokka's holding his own." Don commented.

"For now anyway." Leo replied as they continued to watch the battle continue.

Sokka backed up towards a set of stairs, still blocking Piando's strikes with his own black blade. As they walked up, Sokka was forced to the right side and towards the wall. Sokka blocked and swerved from the sword strikes, and once he cartwheeled out of the way, he jumped up and used his feet to propel himself from the wall to the other one with his sword pointed outward. Piando avoided that and watched as Sokka get up on the top of the wall.

"Good use of terrain, fighting from the high ground." Piando told him as Sokka tried to attack from his elevated position.

"You hearing the way he's talking?" Don asked Leo.

"Yeah, the way he's phrasing it, its like he's still training him."

Sokka stepped above a sword-thrust and pushed his sword on top of it with his feet in an effort to pin the blade down. Piando tested it for a few seconds before using a heave to force Sokka up, causing him to stumble back into a series of bamboo trees; causing most of his friends to wince.

"Piando's getting serious." Leo observed.

Sokka saw Piando get up and quickly ducked to avoid a sword slash, cutting the bamboo trees that he was near. Sokka ran into the bamboo forest with Piando chasing him. As Sokka ran, he used his black sword to cut down several of the bamboo trees in an effort to block Piando's path, but all he really did was just slow him down as Piando cut the falling branches with ease.

Sokka made a turn and grabbed a bamboo tree, pulling and bending it with him. As Piando caught up with him, Sokka let it go in an effort to snap it at Piando's face, but he sliced at it before it could hit. Sokka repeated the process a couple of times.

"Yes, use you're surroundings. Make them fight for _you_!" Piando told him as he continued to chase him.

Sokka ran out of the bamboo forest with his signature scream, with Piando hot on his tail. Piando was able to quicken his pace and get to Sokka's side, where he thrusted with his blade, but Sokka limboed under just in the nick of time. As he stumbled, he drove his sword into the ground, and with a swing, sent some dust right into Piando's face. Most of it covered his eyes, which Piando could not open; else the dust would fall in.

"Very resourceful."

With his eyes closed, Sokka believed he had the advantage as he slowly began to tiptoe away. However, as he did, he stepped on a twig and it made a noise. The Turtles especially grimaced as Sokka saw Piando, using his ears, come in Sokka's direction.

"Oh shell!" Sokka cursed fearfully as he tried to block Piando's attack. Once their blades made contact, Piando twirled his sword until he forced the black blade out of Sokka's hands. With his opponent disarmed, Piando slammed the flat end against Sokka, knocking him down and pointed his blade at him.

Without another thought; Aang, Raph, Katara, Toph, and Mikey jumped down before Leo or Don could attempt to stop them. Before anyone could do anything Piando lowered his stance.

"Excellent work Sokka."

That caught most of the group, especially Sokka, by surprise.

"He was training him." Don said simply.

"Yep." Leo confirmed as he and Don both jumped down to join the others.

Piando made a gesture towards his butler, who threw him the sword sheath, which he was able to let land on his sword perfectly.

"I think I'm a little old to be fighting the Avatar and four giant Turtles."

No one expected to hear that as everyone lowered his or her stances. "How did you know?" Aang questioned.

"Oh I've been around a while, you pick things up." Piando cryptically answered as his butler handed him a towel to clean his face. "Of course I knew from the beginning that Sokka was Water Tribe. You might wanna think of a better Fire Nation cover name." He told Sokka. "Try 'Lee', there's a million Lees."

"But why would you agree to train someone from the Water Tribe?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, aren't you Fire Nation, and you guys are at war?" Mikey asked as well.

"For two reasons. The Way of the Sword doesn't belong to any one nation." Piando answered, Leo could tell from the tone in his voice he did not approve of the war, or how some people in certain parts of all the nations saw themselves as better than anyone else. "Knowledge of the arts belongs to us all."

"Yes, that is true." Leo agreed completely.

"But what's the second reason?" Raph asked.

"Because we currently are facing a grave threat; one that surpasses the current Fire Lord, Ozai, and his forefathers; you know him as The Shredder." Piando answered. "He presents a danger to all people of this world; Fire Nation, Water Tribe, and Earth Kingdom alike. It is imperative that he is stopped."

"I'm a little surprised that you actually know about Shredder." Leo said.

"But you don't need to worry, stopping him is our number one concern." Don assured.

"That's all I needed to hear." Piando picked up Sokka's black sword and handed it to him. "Sokka, you must continue you're training on your own. If you stay on this path, I know that one day, you'll become an even greater master than I am." Sokka gave a sincere smile before bowing to his master.

* * *

The group then walked out the main gates of the estate and we're about to hit the road.

"Wait!" The group turned around to see the butler running towards him. "The master wanted you to have this, as something to remember him by." He handed Sokka a small bag before walking back.

"Dude, you got a present." Mikey said somewhat excitedly as they looked to see Sokka reaching in and pull out a certain Pai-Sho tile.

"What is it?" Raph asked.

"It's a tile of a White Lotus." Leo answered.

"What does it mean?" Katara asked.

"I have no idea." Sokka replied as they turned around to see the main gates closed. "Oh that reminds me." Sokka remembered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a black rock. "Toph, I fought you might like this, since you've never had the chance to bend space-earth before."

It was a fragment from the meteorite. Toph took it in her hands and instantly liked it. "Sweet!" She then began to use her Earthbending on it. "Check this out!" She made a series of shapes with it; a block, a star, and even a splatter.

"Now that is cool." Raph commented.

"Got that right." Mikey agreed.

"You know technically its actually just called a space _rock_." Don corrected. "Since its not from the planet Earth, its not qualified as actual earth."

"Why'd you have to ruin the moment?" Sokka joked.

"Hey, who gave you advice to help become a swordsman?" Don questioned with a joking tone as well.

"Come on guys, we got a long way to go." Leo told the group as they resumed their trek.

* * *

 _Later that night_

There was a knock on the door of Piando's estate. The butler answered it and was shocked to see a Foot ninja at the door.

"I am here to see this Piando."

Before the butler could say anything, Piando himself opened the door wider to see the ninja.

"Can I help you?"

"I heard you are the greatest sword-maker in this nation, is that so?" The Foot ninja questioned.

"I try my best." Piando said straight-forwardly. "Is there something you want from me?"

"Yes" The Foot ninja presented a black case to Piando. He opened it to see the contents of broken metal. "This was once a powerful and mighty sword, but it was destroyed some time ago. You will help to reconstruct it."

Piando looked back at the Foot ninja. "In exchange, you will be paid handsomely." The Foot ninja handed Piando a bag full of gold coins. However, Piando pushed the bag away.

"I do not take commissions." The Foot ninja glared at Piando's statement. "However, I can't say I'm not intrigued. I will rebuild you're sword."

"Excellent." The Foot ninja said as he presented the blueprints to Piando. "Follow those instructions precisely. How long till you will have it completed?"

Piando took a moment to look at the blueprints. "Hmmm. I will say four, maybe five days. This is quite an intricate process."

"Very well, we will return in five days. Have that blade ready." The Foot ninja then vanished into the night.

"Master, are you sure this is a wise idea?" The butler questioned Piando.

"We'll have to see." Piando answered as he looked at the metal fragments and the blueprints.

" _Sokka, I hope you and you're friends will be ready."_

 **Done.**

 **Again, I apologize for the long wait, but finding time to work on my stuff is hard, especially with the holidays coming up. Thank you for your patience.**

 **Just saying this in advanced; no Bishop will NOT be appearing in this story.**

 **I'm also sure that many of you wanted to see Leo train with Sokka as he is the sword-guy of the Ninja Turtles; but I threw in Don because he is the turtle who is closest to Sokka. Leo will help Sokka to spar and train with his sword, don't worry; but many of these chapters, till the Day of Black Sun, will focus on some of the specific bonds between certain Turtles and members of Team Avatar; Mikey and Katara we're the last ones, with Don and Sokka being the ones this time. I'll be back with an update soon. Thank you for your patience.**


	18. Worst Vacation Ever

**Hello everyone. I am sorry it took so long to update. I had finals to take care of for college, and right after I had my wisdom teeth pulled out so that took a bit to recover from, and some parties and preparations for the holidays.**

 **Again sorry for the wait, and happy New Year to all of you.**

 **So without further delay, Worlds Collide continues.**

 **Worst Vacation Ever**

A boat was being pulled by a pair of large seal-like creatures through the water heading towards an island near the Fire Nation capital; on board the vessel where the prince and princess of the Fire Nation; Zuko and Azula, along with Mai and Ty-Lee, and even the Foot's resident kunoichi Karai.

"I'm so excited to spend the weekend on Ember Island!" Ty-Lee stated happily. "It's gonna be great to hang out on the beach and do nothing."

"Doing nothing is a waste of time." Zuko retorted sharply as he sat in the back near Mai. "We're being sent away on a forced vacation, I feel like a child." He said as he stood up and looked off the side of the boat.

"This is something that has been required of us, Zuko." Karai told him as she leaned against the other side of the platform. "So let us make the best of it."

"Yeah, lighten up Zuko." Azula added. "So Dad and Shredder want to meet with their advisors along without anyone else around, don't take it personally."

"Doesn't your family have a house on Ember Island?" Ty-Lee asked Azula.

"We used to come every summer when we we're kids." The princess replied.

"That must have been fun." Ty-Lee said.

"That was a long time ago." Zuko stated as he looked off the railing with some contempt in his voice; something Karai and Mai both noticed.

Karai mentally admitted she had not expected this; it was very rare her father had sent her away while he discussed important matters; she was always included in such matters. But seeing as she was already here, she might as well take the time to get to know Zuko and his friends a little bit more.

The boat pulled up to a dock where the five youths gathered as the boat stopped and they we're immediately greeted by the elder twins Lo and Li, both in beach outfits.

"Welcome to Ember Island, kids." They both greeted at the same time.

They all saw the cabin they would be staying in; which was likely the smallest cabin on the island. Azula had a look of disappointment; Karai and Ty-Lee raised their eyebrows in slight confusion, while Zuko and Mai looked towards each other, also in confusion.

* * *

The elderly twins led the kids inside the beach house, Karai was the first to enter with Azula right behind her, followed by Ty-Lee, Zuko, and Mai.

"Not… what I had expected." Karai noted the small space in the living room as everyone got settled.

"It smells like old lady in here." Zuko observed.

"Gee, I wonder why." Mai replied sarcastically.

Ty-Lee happened to spot a portrait near the deck by the window. This one showed two young, identical, and attractive women in yellow bathing suits, seductively placing their rear ends by each other.

"Who are these two beautiful women?"

"Can't you tell?" Li playfully asked as she and her twin sister performed the exact same pose in the painting. "It's Lo and me."

"It's Li and me." Lo added, speaking simultaneously with her sister.

Karai, Azula, Ty-Lee, and Mai all had disturbed expressions while Zuko looked like he was about to throw up.

They we're then led into one of the bedrooms that was meant for the girls, though Karai did not expect the décor to be quite like this.

"It's very…. Pink."

Ty-Lee liked it instantly as she fell flat on her bed. "Ooooh. I love the sea shell bedspread."

"Are you serious?" Mai drolled. "It looks like the beach threw up all over it."

"We know that you're upset that you we're forced to come here this weekend." Lo began.

"But Ember Island is a magical place." Li added.

"Keep an open mind." Lo continued.

"Give it a chance." Li finished.

"And it can help you understand yourselves and each other." Lo and Li said at the same time.

Lo took a smooth rock from the table. "The beach has a special way…." She began as she handed Li the rock.

"…Of smoothing even the most raged edges." Lo finished as she rubbed the smooth rock.

Karai took an interest at that statement, but her look of interested turned into a glare as Azula yawned, showing no interest whatsoever.

Both twins clapped. "Time to hit the beach!" They removed their coats, reveling their bathing suits, and sagging breasts. Karai glanced away in slight disgust, while Mai covered Zuko's eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a more distant part of the Fire Nation another group was taking a slight vacation of their own, only this one was more enjoyable. Within a deep and large crater, lied a massive body of water, which the Ninja Turtles and Team Avatar used, like a pool.

Raph was relaxing on the same rock Toph was sitting on to soak her feet; Sokka was on another larger rock, trying to fish, Don and Leo we're both on the same rock as well, with Leo meditating and Don working on the schematics for something. Katara was ringing out her hair; Mikey was in the water trying to see how long he can hold his breath, with Aang lying flat on the water with Momo on his chest.

"Guys! Should you all expose yourselves like this! Cover up! You to Twinkle Toes!" Toph told most of the group.

"What? I'm wearing trunks." Aang dismissed.

"I think she means your tattoos." Don corrected, taking his eye off his work for a second.

"That and there are four giant talking Turtles down here with us!" Toph added. "What if someone sees us?!"

"There are walls all around us, it's completely safe." Katara assured her.

"And besides, you got your seismic sense thing right?" Raph asked Toph, to which she nodded. "So you can tell whether people are gonna show up now, so I'd say we're good."

Mikey's head popped up out of the water next to Aang. "Its kinda nice to get a break, what with all the hiding and stuff."

"But remember, we do have a schedule to keep." Leo reminded, keeping his eyes closed as he meditated. "So we're heading out first thing tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah." Sokka dismissed with a wave.

Mikey looked at something that made him smile. "Hey little air-dude. Check it!" He patted Aang's shoulder as Momo also looked and screeched.

Aang turned around and saw a small cave where water was running down like the start of a water slide.

The two immature younglings looked to each other ith smiles. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Mikey asked with a grin.

"You bet!" Aang added as he hopped over a rock and went down with Momo and Mikey right behind him.

Raph saw this and groaned as he face-palmed. "Those two are gonna be the death of us."

"Cowabunga!" Mikey exclaimed, as he, Aang, and Momo all slid down they're makeshift waterslide; clearly having fun as they swerved and turned.

* * *

Near a pool two teenage Fire Nation guards both looked clearly bored as one leaned against the ground and waved a fan in front of his face while the other rubbed the handle of his sword in between his toes.

"This has got to be the most boring job in the Fire Nation." The first guard complained. "Nothing ever happens."

As the second guards sniffed the handle he rubbed between his toes, he and his friend both heard two yells as two certain individuals fell from the small waterfall and into the water pool close to them.

The guards quickly hid themselves as they shared a telescope looking to what came up out of the water; a certain young monk and an orange-clad turtle with a lemur.

"That was fun!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Yeah, lets go again!" Aang cheered as he used Airbending to hop from one rock to another, while Mikey did the same with his own agility.

The two guards' mouths went agape as they saw this from their shared telescope. "The Avatar's alive! We better send a messenger hawk to the Fire…"

He couldn't finish his sentence as something hit his neck causing him to fall face-first on the ground; before the other guard could react the exact same thing happened as he fell face-flat on the ground as well next to the first guard.

A Foot ninja, one of the spies that had been following the Turtles, Avatar, and their friends these last couple of weeks, had walked to the scene as he was the one who threw a pair of kunai at them, both could be seen in their necks as blood began to pour out slightly.

"That was too close." The Foot Ninja said to himself. "Nothing personal, Fire Trash, but we can't have Ozai know about the Avatar just yet." He looked towards the cliffside with the large pool and crater on the other side.

"But it seems the Turtles and their new friends are making better time than we anticipated." The Foot Ninja continued to speak to himself. "They cannot reach the Capital before the Day of Black Sun; we'll need to slow them down a bit."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device, which displayed a hologram to show four shaded individuals. "If you've caught up to the Turtles and the Avatar then its time to make your move. Tonight."

* * *

 _Ember Island_

The hot summer day was perfect for the beach as many men, women, and children we're well enjoying this vacation time; some bathed in the sun, others swam and surfed in the ocean, while others ate junk food.

Our favorite group of royals walked towards their sight. Azula wore a red two-piece bathing suit, with Ty-Lee wearing something similar only hers was white. Karai had a black bikini on as she walked with them. At the back, Zuko wore a pair of dark red trunks as he held up an umbrella to keep him and Mai out of the sun, while Mai wore a sun dress and dark red top.

Two kids we're building a sand castle, only to have Azula stomp on it. One look from her made the two boys go run and scream as Azula kicked the bucket out of the way.

"Was that really necessary?" Karai questioned Azula's actions.

"What? It was in the way." She replied.

"You could have just walked around it." Karai said.

Azula merely shrugged. "Not my style." She said as she continued walking.

Karai rolled her eyes as she continued as well.

As everyone got settled, one boy zoomed towards Ty-Lee. "Hey, you need some help unpacking?"

"Sure, thanks." Ty-Lee dumped her massive bag on him; which he unloaded in record time before lying down the blanket, which Ty-Lee laid down on. Azula saw this and looked away with a jealous look on her face.

Ty-Lee squinted in the sunlight. "Could you scooch just a little bit more to the…" the boy zipped in front of the sun, providing her with ample shade. "Perfect." She told him with a wink.

Zuko and Mai meanwhile both sat under their umbrella, slightly further back. He saw a shell and grabbed it before handing it to Mai.

"Here, this is for you."

"Why would I want that?" Mai questioned.

"I saw it and though it was pretty, don't girls like stuff like that?"

Mai scoffed and looked away. "Maybe stupid girls."

"Forget it!" Zuko harshly exclaimed as he threw the shell away.

The shell landed near a well-built young man. He looked in the direction it came from and saw Ty-Lee in a seductive pose. His mouth turned into a wide grin with his cheeks blushing.

He quickly zoomed in front of Ty-Lee with the shell, much to the shock of the boy providing her shade.

"Wow thanks. This is so pretty." Ty-Lee thanked as she took the shell.

"Not as pretty as you are." The young man said as the boy scowled in jealousy.

"That shell's not so great!" The first boy exclaimed as he moved, thus putting the sun light back on Ty-Lee.

"Ahem. Shade. Shade!"

Meanwhile, Karai was looking for a spot to set down. She was not used to this many people, as this was honestly her only vacation she'd ever been on. Any leaves from the Foot we're just some business in other branches of the clan in other parts of the world, either in New York or Japan. She looked and saw a rock that was further away from most people and had no one present, she was about to walk towards it when a small ball rolled towards her.

Karai picked it up and saw a small boy run to her, as this was his ball. She smiled as she handed it back to him.

"Thank you nice lady." The boy said as he ran back to his parents.

Karai continued to smile as she walked towards the spot; she hopped on top of the rock and sat down in lotus position before beginning to meditate.

"Karai get over here!"

She didn't turn around to address Azula as she simply remained in her meditative position. "Why?"

"Because I ordered you to."

"I do not take orders from you; whatever it is, perhaps you should do it yourself." Karai said getting right to the point.

Azula scowled at that. No one has ever talked to her like that, especially in public. "How dare you. Did you forget to whom you are speaking?!"

"I am well aware, but I am not your servant, if anything I am of equal status as you. Besides, this is not a mission we are undertaking, merely a leave for a weekend. Now if you'll excuse me, I must meditate." Karai stated before resuming her meditation.

Azula glared even further. Under normal circumstances she would have set Karai ablaze with blue flame, but she remembered how there was not to be an incident here. She just turned around and simply acquired Zuko, Mai, and Ty-Lee for her task: a volleyball game.

As they started, Karai continued to meditate, thinking more on her visit with Iroh, as well as this citation as a whole for this world. She knew only the basics as this world has been at war for a whole century; the Fire Nation waging war on both the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes. The Earth Kingdom had been defeated, which Karai unfortunately played a part in, but it seems the Water Tribes we're still active so there was still some fighting going on. Karai heard of this other culture known as the Air Nomads and they had perished in the war, but she was not caught up on the specifics of that; she'd like to know that.

She also began to think more of what her father had planned; the Fire Nation, as far as she could tell, had been very ruthless this past century, but what was to happen soon, a part of Karai did not agree with what was going on, or what the Foot had been doing since her father had regain control after New York was almost destroyed in the war between the Foot Elite, the Purple Dragons, and the Mob.

Karai's thoughts we're interrupted when she heard Azula gloating, she turned around to see the net burn to nothing and the sinister smug on the princess' face, the situation spoke for itself. She sighed as she walked towards the group.

Ty-Lee was the first to notice. "Hey Karai, we're going to a party tonight. You should totally come!"

"Why would you want me to come?"

"Cause it would be pretty boring without you." Ty-Lee answered. "Everyone else is going and you should to."

Karai sighed slightly. "Very well." Ty-Lee gave a wide smile. "If nothing else to keep Azula from burning it down."

Ty-Lee giggled. "You're very funny." She gave a playful nudge to Karai's arm with her hand before they walked back to the beach house.

* * *

 _Later that afternoon_

Karai, Zuko, Mai, Azula, and Ty-Lee sat at a table at their small beach house on the deck with Lo and Li having some food before the party would begin a few hours later.

"Why didn't you tell those guys who we we're?" Zuko asked his sister.

"I guess I was intrigued." Azula answered. "I'm so used to people worshiping us…"

"They should." Ty-Lee added.

"Yes I know, and I love it." Azula agreed before continuing. "But for once, I just wanted to see how people would treat us if they didn't know who we we're."

Karai was mildly surprised by this. "Where's this curiosity coming from?"

Azula shrugged. "Eh, don't know. Just trying it out and seeing how it goes."

"Like waves washing away the foot prints on the sand…" Li began.

"Ember Island gives everyone a clean slate." Lo continued. "Ember Island reveals the true you."

Lo and Li stood up before clapping a bit. "To the party!" They both clapped simultaneously.

* * *

Meanwhile at the pool-crater that was Team Avatar and the Ninja Turtle's campsite; the Turtles had stood up as the kids we're setting up their sleeping arrangements.

"Where are you guys going?" Sokka asked.

"We're gonna get a long run in." Don answered.

The young benders we're a bit surprised at that. "But it's so late out." Katara pointed out as the sun was setting.

"Exactly." Raph stated. "Anyone who lives here's getting ready for sleep right now. It'll be pitch black in just an hour so no one will see us."

"Yeah; we haven't gotten a work out in for a while, don't wanna be rusty during the Invasion." Mikey added.

"Okay, that makes sense." Aang said. "Want us to come with you?"

"Its best you guys stay here." Leo replied.

"What? Think we can't keep up with you?" Toph cracked.

"You might, but we want someone to stay with the camp, just in case some random stranger doesn't stumble across it." Leo answered.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Aang agreed.

"Alright bros lets move!" Mikey exclaimed before the Turtles quickly hopped and climbed the curved wall and made it out of the large ravine to begin their work out.

"You know, you really gotta admire they're determination." Katara pointed out.

"Yeah, you know those guys when it comes to training, nothing stops them." Toph agreed.

"Well I'm gonna be the first to say how lucky we are to have them on our side." Sokka said.

"You're right Sokka, if it weren't for them; who knows what would have happen, I don't think we'd ever come this far. Especially with Shredder helping the Fire Nation." Aang agreed.

"Hey, who do you guys think would win in a fight? Them or us?" Toph asked.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka we're both surprised with that question. "Why would you ask something like that Toph?"

Toph shrugged. "Eh, just curious."

"To be honest; I think they would win." Aang answered.

"Aw come on. We're Team Avatar!" Sokka boasted. "We can take anything!"

"Are you sure Sokka?" Aang asked. "Because we had a real hard time fighting those Foot guys, and the Turtles took them down easily."

"Plus they did beat Azula and her sidekicks when we first met them, not to mention a small Firebending army." Toph added.

"Well I don't think we have to worry about anything like that." Katara said. "They're our friends, and there's no way we'd ever get into a serious fight like that."

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, as the Turtles began to get to a forest and hop from tree-branch to tree-branch as they began their run, they failed to notice four other figures quickly zoom along the ground with equal speed and agility. As the sun began to set, the four figures looked towards the spot where the Turtles just came from and one of them gave a large toothy smile with a parasitic tongue sticking out, and a slight insane cackle.

* * *

 _Ember Island_

It was dusk as Karai, Zuko, Mai, Ty-Lee, and Azula walked up to the house that the party was being hosted at.

Azula was the first to knock on the door, and a teenage man named Chan was the one to open it.

"Um… you're a little early. No one's hear yet."

"I heard someone say you'd be partying from dusk till dawn." Azula replied. "Its dusk, so we're here."

"Azula, that is only an expression." Karai told her.

"Uh yeah… what she said." Chan agreed.

"We are the perfect party guests, we arrived on time because we are very punctual." Azula stated.

Chan shrugged as he opened the door and let them all inside. "Alright listen, my Dad's an admiral, he has no idea I'm having this party so don't mess anything up."

"We will try." Karai replied before she walked further inside the house, Mai walked a bit closer to her as well.

"Never really expected you to be a real 'party-person'."

"I am not." Karai responded. "I'm here only because Ty-Lee asked me, and I didn't have anything else to do."

"Yeah, I'm not really into parties either." Mai said. "Hopefully it won't be so many people."

"Somehow I doubt that."

* * *

Moments later many other teenagers arrived and the party had become quite crowded. It had been almost impossible for Karai to find a spot to be by herself. She honestly did not know what to do, as this was pretty much her only party she'd ever been to. With nothing else really, she merely grabbed a drink and sat down on a nearby chair. She did however happen to glance to a corner where Ty-Lee was surrounded by at least five boys.

"So how do you know Ty-Lee?"

"I met her at the beach today. She was pretty impressed with the sand goat that I made for her."

"Well, I met her first!"

All the boys turned to the very nervous Ty-Lee who was literally cornered. "Look, it doesn't matter who I met first. Cause I like you all!"

"But which one of us do you _like_?"

"Yeah."

"Tell us."

"I don't know! I don't know!" Ty-Lee exclaimed in a panic before throwing her punches, chi-blocking all the boys, causing them all to fall over.

Ty-Lee then flipped and jumped before landing in the seat right next to Karai, much to her surprise.

"Oh I'm so glad I found you Karai." Ty-Lee began, feeling a bit relieved. "Those boys won't leave me alone, I guess they all just like me to much."

"No Ty-Lee, I do not believe that is the case." Karai replied.

"What are you talking about?" The acrobat asked in confusion.

"Those boys are only attracted by your physical appearance, I doubt they really care about who you are personally."

That was far more hurtful than Karai had intended as Ty-Lee began to sob, something that Karai quickly regretted as she put her hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, that may have come out wrong." Karai began, as Ty-Lee stopped sobbing, but tears we're still in her eyes. "I've seen people who have used and abused others simply for their talents or outward appearances. I'm just concerned for you, that's all."

Ty-Lee was mildly surprised. "You we're… looking out for me?" She then had a grin on her face. "Oh that is so sweet!" She then embraced the kunoichi in a hug, much to her surprise. "You're an awesome friend!"

Ty-Lee then skipped away happily, leaving a stunned Karai. That was the first time anyone ever hugged her, even after being raised by the Shredder any affectionate moves he gave we're just some shoulder or head pats. Karai decided to get some air so she walked out onto the balcony.

The party noise died down as she let the wind and ocean sounds enter, this beach was very beautiful at night. This let her clear some thoughts from her head, but this point of serenity was interrupted by a set of footsteps from someone she did not like.

"Karai."

"Azula." The kunoichi greeted back simply.

It was a bit of a tense silence between the two girls, which Azula was the first to break. "Look, we obviously don't like each other very well, but we're both stuck here for the weekend, so we should at least try to find a way to make it more endurable."

"Perhaps you can start with being less dominant over pretty much everyone you come across." Karai told her.

"I _am_ the princess of the Fire Nation."

"A title that has no value if you abuse the power you have." Karai replied.

"Abused?" Azula questioned.

"This country has engulfed the world in war; people are suffering, dying, meanwhile you and your father are basking in these horrors."

"I'd watch you're tone if I we're you Karai." Azula scowled.

"Why is that?" Karai questioned. "I believe I am well within my rights to look down on a little girl."

Azula scowled even further. "Consider yourself lucky we're on the same side. Otherwise I'd burn you to a crisp."

"You would fail before your fire even hit the mark." Karai stated.

Before anyone could respond there was the sounds of yelling, both girls recognized it as Zuko and Mai. A door slam was heard a second later. Azula merely looked amused.

"Well, looks like Zuzu has gotten himself into trouble again."

"You should show your elder brother more respect." Karai stated.

Azula's smile turned back into a glare before walking inside. Karai then looked down off the deck to see Zuko walking along the beach. However, he was walking in a different direction then we're their cabin was. With curiosity getting the better of her, Karai leaped off the deck and landed gracefully and quietly on the beach, following Zuko as he walked.

* * *

Zuko hadn't noticed Karai at all as he walked along a familiar path along the beach. He passed by a few rocks and looked up on a hillside to see a beach house, but not just any, it was the same one his family went to when he was much younger. He began walking up the hillside towards it, as he did, multiple memories of his childhood came flooding into his mind; many of these memories we're happy ones, which was very rare for him growing up. Memories of him and his mother, his uncle, his cousin, and even a few bits with his sister when they we're only toddlers.

Karai followed back a short distance, with Zuko not noticing. She could tell by the way he moved there was a lot on his mind; it wasn't hard for her to figure out this was his family's beach house.

Zuko got to the door; he pulled on the handle to see it was locked. He then kicked the door open, breaking the lock and walked in himself as more and more memories came in. He walked a bit upstairs and soon came to a portrait of his family, he looked at the painting of his mother for a brief moment before taking a small clay plate with a hand-print on it and placing his own hand on top of it.

* * *

 _Team Avatar's Campsite_

Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph all laid sleeping along with Appa and Momo; the Turtles had yet to come back from their run, but the kids knew they wouldn't get caught, they're too good. As they slept however, Toph felt a series of footsteps, they we're very familiar and yet at the same time, they felt… off.

"Guys." She said, waking everyone up. "I think they're back." She said, referring to the Turtles

Katara yawned a bit. "Well, that was a long workout for them."

"But there's something not right about this." Toph said with a raised eyebrow.

"What… what do you mean?" A tried Sokka asked.

"It feels like them, but also… not like them."

"Huh?" Aang questioned in complete confusion.

"I know it sounds weird, but I don't know any better way to describe it." Toph tried to explain, despite being just as confused as they we're.

The ones with working eyes failed to notice at the top of the cliffside a shaded, yellow, individual holding a device that looked like a rocket launcher and aiming it at the kids down below, specifically towards the sleeping bison. He fired and launched what appeared to be a rocket, but as it flew, it opened up to reveal a large electrical net, which quickly ensnared and shocked Appa.

"APPA!" Aang yelled in shock, along with everyone else, at seeing his bison roll in an electric net, which zapped his beloved bison into submission.

They all ran towards him, when Sokka tried to grab the net himself, he too got shocked. "Ow!"

"Oopsie!"

They all turned to the sound of that voice, which was accompanied with a cackle as it was from the top of the cliff.

Toph growled. "Oh we'll show you 'oopsie!'" She yelled.

"Wait… was that… Mikey?!" Katara questioned. "It sounded a lot like him."

"No way! He'd never do something like this to Appa!" Aang exclaimed.

"Come on, let's see who we're dealing with." Sokka told the group as he took up his space sword and Katara grabbed her water satchel.

Toph created a moving earth-platform that elevated the four up the cliffside and to a large area of tall stone towers. The kids walked around looking for whoever attacked them.

"Where are they?" Katara asked.

"I can feel them. Over there!" Toph pointed to an overly shaded area where the group could only see silloutes of four individuals.

"Who's there? Show yourselves!" Aang demanded.

He soon got a reply with a series of evil chuckles as the individuals stepped into the moonlight; revealing themselves as the Dark Turtles.

Aang, Katara, even Sokka's expressions could not be described with mere words. Their faces we're mixed with shock, confusion, and mild horror at the sight of the four large, dark colored, misshapen Turtles, which looked and sounded like their friends.

"Uh… what am I supposed to be looking at?" Toph questioned.

"Four large Turtles…. I think I…." Katara couldn't find the right words.

"THERE'S MORE TURTLES?!" Sokka shouted at the top of his lungs. "Just how many are there?!"

Dark Leo scoffed. "What? Expecting someone else?"

"Leo?" Aang questioned and looked towards the others in front of him. "Raph? Don? Mikey? Is that… is that really you guys?"

"The answer is yes and no." Dark Don replied.

"We're what you get when you look at them in a mirror, the fun-house kind." Dark Mikey added before giving an insane cackle once again.

"Enough jiber-jaber!" Dark Raph exclaimed. "Which one of you brats is the Avatar?"

Now the Gaang's expressions became one of even greater great shock than before as their eyes shrunk.

"They know about us?!" Katara terrifiedly exclaimed.

"But… but how?!" Sokka questioned.

Dark Leo smacked Dark Raph upside the head. "Idiot, its the kid with the tattoos, but it doesn't matter; we're taking them all."

Toph took a combat stance. "The shell you freaks are!"

"Get them!" Dark Leo exclaimed as he and the Dark Turtles charged forward and Team Avatar did the same for them.

Dark Raph jumped straight up and raised both his massive fists as he fell, heading directly for Toph who coated herself in earth-armor and took the impact with her rock-covered arms. She then pushed forward and sent all the rocks covering her body right to Dark Raph less than an inch from her; this sent him back a bit, but he skidded to a halt on his feet. Dark Raph smirked.

"That all you got you little runt?" The dark red turtle clone challenged.

"Not even close you wannabe." Toph punched two rock towers next to her and used her Earthbending to try and topple both of them onto him. Dark Raph jumped up and with his talon-knuckles was able to punch through both of them with much strength not even the original Raph had.

Toph was quite surprised at that but was able to roll out of the way as Dark Raph landed at the spot she was at, talon-knuckles first, his spikes digging in the ground.

"You may sound like Raph, but I know you're not him." Toph told the clone, pointing at him. "He can take a lot more than you!" She sent three boulders right towards him, Dark Raph punched through the first two but took one to the face; only to reveal the boulder in his mouth, before he bit down and shattered it.

Toph had enough and coated her fists in rocks and moved the earth below her to send her steaming right towards Dark Raph talon-knuckles first; but Dark Raph caught both her fists in his left hand and lifted her high into the air.

"Lets crack you open!" Dark Raph said before slamming Toph into the ground. "And see if there's a nice yummy filling inside." He said before slamming her into the ground two more times. On the last one, she was finally knocked unconscious, Dark Raph held her dangling by her arm as he laughed a bit in her face.

Sokka tried to slash at Dark Don with his space sword, only for Dark Don to block it with his left wrist-guard with little effort. Sokka continually attacked Dark Don with his sword, but the dark purple turtle clone blocked every single strike.

"So, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe I presume?" Dark Don greeted as he blocked one strike and gave a fierce kick to knock Sokka back.

The young warrior quickly stood up. "Who or what are you? And why do you sound like Don?"

"I could attempt to cram fifteen years worth of advanced biology into that primitive skull of yours, but then I doubt it would sink in what with you being the idiot in the group and all." Dark Don said with a smirk.

"Who are you calling primitive?!" Sokka angrily questioned as he tried to thrust his sword forward, but Dark Dob crossed his wrist-guard arms to block it and swung his long tail forwad to smack Sokka and snap the sword out of his hands. Sokka tried to get up, but Dark Don came in with his claws and slashed at the rock tower that was right behind Sokka when he ducked. Sokka rolled out of the way and quickly threw his boomerang, which flew past Dark Don.

"You missed."

" _That's what they all say."_ Sokka thought as he saw his boomerang come flying back; but his smirk vanished as Dark Don grabbed the boomerang as it came back, causing the pony-tailed teen's mouth to drop.

Dark Don sighed. "Piece of advice, when going into battle, don't bring toys." He threw the boomerang away before coming in with a punch to Sokka's gut, knocking the wind right out of him.

Aang used Airbending to jump from rock tower to rock tower to avoid the relentless sword-slashes from Dark Leo. Aang ducked and swerved to avoid each slash and used Airbending to quickly gain some distance; but saw Dark Leo running towards him, spinning each blade in hand like a helicopter, and quickly closing the gap. He raised his right sword and tried to bring it on Aang's head, only for Aang to coat his left arm in rock and grabbed the sword. When Dark Leo tried to slash with his other blade, Aang ducked and sucked in a great deal of air before blowing out a massive gust to send Dark Leo flying into a rock tower, shell-first.

"Heh, not bad. For a pacifist wimp." Dark Leo mocked. "Come on, you can do better than that."

"Just who are you?" Aang questioned. "Are you Leo?"

"Like my brother said, the answer is both yes and no." Dark Leo replied. "Now come on, I wanna see what the mighty Avatar has got!"

Dark Leo once again continued his relentless slashes with his blades; forcing Aang to duck and avoid each and every one of them. When Aang got some distance, he thrusted his arms forward, causing several rocks from the rock tower to fly forward, but Dark Leo was able to cut and slice through all of them with his weapons. One rock was batted away and landed near Dark Mikey who was in his own battle.

"Excuse me!" Dark Mikey called out. "I'm in the middle of a fight here." He said as he kicked up the rock and kicked it away. "Geeze some people." He cackled again.

Dark Mikey faced Katara who bent water from her satchel so that water-tentacles covered her arms. Dark Mikey gave a smirk.

"Heh, you know for a human kid, you're kinda cute." Dark Mikey stated. "Think about maybe switching sides? It could be lots of fun." Dark Mikey hinted with a wink, and his parasitic tongue sticking out.

"Ew!" Katara cringed in disgust. "Why would you even say that!? That is just wrong?!" She then whipped her right tentacle and sent several daggers of ice right at Dark Mikey who batted them away with his right club. Katara ran forward and swiped her left tentacle at Dark Mikey's legs in an effort to trip him, but he jumped right over her and landed behind her. Before she knew it, he smacked her with his left club and sent her flying.

"Ooooh. It looks like a long fly ball." Dark Mikey looked out as if it we're a baseball game and saw Katara skid and roll hard on the ground. "Its outta here!" He laughed as he danced in place.

Katara groaned as she got up. "Quit acting like my friend! You're not!" Dark Mikey looked confused. "You sound like Mikey, but you're not. Just who do you think you guys are, intimidating our friends?!"

Dark Mikey proceeded to mock her. "Oh boo-hoo" He faked cried. "Why don't you go cry home to mommy? Oh wait that's right. You don't have a mommy." He stated as he laughed.

That hit Katara right where it hurts. She stood there shocked for a minute as tears formed. To hear a voice that sounded similar to her friends mock her mother like that, it was unthinkable for her. Her face turned into a scowl as she yelled in rage sent all her water forward in the form of a massive bullet right at Dark Mikey. His smile vanished as he took the impact and slid forward several feet.

Katara angrily approached the downed dark yellow turtle clone, who looked unconscious. She glared down for a second before his eyes shot open and he grabbed her by the face and shoulder.

"Gotcha!" Dark Mikey exclaimed as he was playing possum before raising Katara up and throwing her hard at a rock tower, knocking her out.

Aang sent an air-wave forward with a swipe of his legs at Dark Leo, who cut through it with his blades. Dark Leo slowly approached Aang who remained un guard. He glanced behind and looked in shock to see Dark Don land behind him. Dark Raph growled as he approached from the right, and finally Dark Mikey from the left as he was still cackling like a maniac. Aang could not believe it, all his friends we're down so quickly.

Dark Raph growled even more. "Come on! Finish him already!"

"Use caution however." Dark Don warned. "He is the most powerful bender of all on this planet."

"Ooooh. Sounds like fun." Dark Mikey chuckled.

Aang glared at the Dark Turtles that surrounded him. "I wont go down so easily."

Aang thrusted both his fists outward; sending gusts of air that knocked back both Dark Mikey and Dark Raph; he then used an earth-pillar to propel himself upward to avoid the combined slashes of Dark Don and Dark Leo. Aang then propelled himself right at a tall rock tower and landed on top. He looked to see all four Dark Turtles hopping on the other rock towers towards him. Aang flew forward under Dark Leo and sent an air-wave that knocked him back right into Dark Mikey as they both tumbled back.

Dark Don jumped towards him and tried to smack him with his tail, only for Aang to jump further back on one rock tower and coat his left fist in stone as he used an air gust to fly straight towards Dark Don fist-first, only for the clone to block it by crossing his wrist-guards, but this gave Aang an opening to give a cartwheel kick, excelled with Airbending to send Dark Don flying straight up. The pillar Aang was standing on soon gave way as Dark Raph was down below punching it with his talon-knuckles. Aang then began to ran downward on the side of the falling rock tower right at Dark Raph who realed a punch back, only for Aang to jump up and land on his head, before using Earthbending to create a crater to have Dark Raph fall in.

Dark Leo, Dark Mikey, and Dark Don all landed on the ground near Dark Raph and looked to see that Aang had vanished.

"Whoa. Kid pulled a Houdini." Mikey said with a blank look.

"That brat is here somewhere, find him!" Dark Leo ordered as they began to search the forest of rock towers.

As they looked, they failed to notice Aang hiding in a rock-tower, the only opening being one for his eyes as he looked. The Dark Turtles searched everywhere but didn't seem to find him. Dark Don came near the spot where Aang was and glanced back to see him.

"HE'S OVER HERE!" Dark Don exclaimed, revealing Aang's location; but Aang burst forward, blasting Dark Don back. He sent a vertical air wave that blew away the incoming Dark Raph and Dark Mikey and soared right toward the visible Dark Leo with his fist reeled back.

Before he could make contact however, Dark Leo revealed in his left hand the unconscious Katara. Aang's eyes went wide as he stopped his attack and tumbled forward, only to have Dark Leo deliver a punch right to Aang's face followed by a roundhouse kick right to the side of Aang's head, finally knocking him out.

"That's your problem right there, Avatar." Dark Leo told the unconscious boy. "You're too soft." He picked him up with the unconscious Katara as he turned to his brothers. "Grab the others and let's go."

Dark Don picked up the unconscious Sokka and threw him over his shoulder, while Dark Raph did the same for the knocked out Toph. Dark Mikey picked up his clubs as well as Sokka's Space-Sword and boomerang with Katara's water satchel and the Dark Turtles walked away, not noticing that Momo was watching them the whole time.

* * *

 _Ember Island._

Zuko sat on the deck of his family's old beach house looking at the clay plate of the handprint on it. "I know you're there, come on out."

Karai walked out towards Zuko. "I am sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."

"Its alright."

Karai looked at the house. "This is your family's summer home?"

"Back when we we're kids, yeah." Zuko answered. "Back when our family used to be happy, which was a long time ago."

Karai felt like she needed to say something, but couldn't find the right words. She heard a few footsteps behind her and looked to see Azula approach them. The princess merely glanced at Karai before looking towards her brother.

"I thought I might find you here."

"Those summers we spent here seem so long ago." Zuko said. "So much has changed."

It was silent for a few seconds. "Come down to the beach with me." Azula told him. "Come on, this place is depressing."

Azula, Zuko, along with Karai all walked down the hillside back towards the beach while Zuko left behind the clay plate.

As they got to the beach, Karai noticed Mai and Ty-Lee we're present as well, sitting on some rocks. Mai looked away from Zuko for a minute, but then looked back at him. "Hey."

"Where's your new boyfriend?" Zuko harshly asked, causing Mai to look away with a scowl. Karai chose not to get involved in this. Zuko however regretted what he just said and sat down next to Mai.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked as he reached his arm around her, but she nudged it away.

"I'm freezing!" Ty-Lee said in an effort to diffuse the tension; Karai gave an amused smile at her attempt

"I'll make a fire." Zuko said as he looked up to his old house. "There's plenty of stuff to burn in there."

* * *

Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey had just returned to the campsite after their run. Mikey stretched his arms and legs.

"Man… what a workout."

"Yeah, kinda nice to cut loose a bit." Don agreed.

"Got that right." Raph replied. "I'm so sick of hiding, I can't wait for the Invasion." He said, punching his left palm with his right fist.

"Don't worry Raph, we'll be able to bust plenty of heads when…" Leo didn't finish his sentence as Momo flew in front of his face, screeching up a storm. "Momo? What is it?"

Momo flew in one direction. "I think he wants us to follow him." Don guessed as the Turtles ran in the direction following the lemur.

They all slid down the hillside into the pool-crater and looked in shock to see Appa ensnared in a net.

"Appa!" Mikey exclaimed as they ran forward. Raph immediately took out a sai and cut a few pieces of the net, letting Appa break out with a mighty roar.

"What the heck happened?!" Raph exclaimed.

"Where's Aang?" Leo questioned as he looked around. "He's gone!"

"Not just him." Don added. "Katara, Toph, even Sokka are all gone."

"Hey guys, you don't think someone came by and snatched them all, don't you?" Mikey wordily questioned.

Raph growled. "If anyone hurt Toph, I'll send my fist so deep up his…"

"Save the anger Raph, its not gonna help us find them." Leo told him. Momo soon hooped on Leo's shoulder and screeched a bit. "Do you know where they are?"

Momo flew in one direction up and out of the crater. "I'd say that's a yes." Don observed as they ran after Momo once more, with Appa following them.

* * *

A few minutes later; Momo had led the others to a large cavern just outside the forest of rock towers.

"They must be in there." Leo guessed. Appa was about to go in, but Mikey stopped him.

"Sorry big guy, but they'd probably see you coming a mile away." The orange-clad Turtle told him, causing Appa to growl in agrivation.

"Don't worry Appa, we'll get Aang and the others back." Don assured.

"Less talking, more moving." Raph stated, eager to get his friends out, and to pur the hurt on whoever took them.

The Turtles ran into the cave; it was dark for a minute until the cave soon expanded until the ceiling was roughly a hundred feet high. They soon noticed multiple torches lighting the walls, and illuminating their path.

"Lit torches. Someone's been here recently." Don deduced.

"So who do you think took the kids?" Mikey questioned.

Before any Turtle could answer, they heard a voice identical to Raph's coming down the cave.

"What should we do with them?"

The Turtles turned around and saw four large shadows approaching the area. They quickly leapt up on the wall and quickly and quietly climbed onto the ceiling.

"The boss said he didn't care as long as they never see the light of day again." Dark Leo answered as the Dark Turtles came into view, completely unnoticing the real Turtles above them.

"The Avatar's body is going to science." Dark Don joked, resulting in them laughing.

Once the Dark Turtles walked further on ahead, the Turtles looked in shock and confusion at what they just saw.

"Uh…. What the Shell?!" Raph exclaimed in a whisper.

"Are those guys… us?!" Mikey exclaimed as well, also whispering.

"I think so… but I just… can't believe it." Don stuttered in shock as well.

Leo was the first to get his bearings. "We'll find out later. But right now, our first priority is getting Aang and the others out. Come on."

The Turtles uses their ninja-stealth to crawl along the ceiling, following the unsuspecting Dark Turtles who walked deeper into the massive cave. They soon reached a massive chamber which diverged into four paths, the Dark Turtles each split up and took separate paths letting the Turtles fall down from the ceiling and land quietly on the ground; they looked around and Mikey was the first to spot something.

"Bros, there they are!"

They all looked to see their unconscious friends. Aang and Sokka we're both hanging by their arms in chains; while Katara and Toph we're both tied together in ropes, also hanging from the ceiling. The Turtles quickly ran to them. Leo cut the chains for Sokka and Aang as Don caught them both while Mikey and Raph untied Katara and Toph.

"Guys wake up, come on!" Leo exclaimed.

Aang was the first to wake up. He saw his friend's face. "Leo…?"

"Yeah its me. The real me."

Katara and the others woke up as well. "Guys!" She exclaimed in a smile of relief. "I'm so glad to see all of you."

"Yeah, feeling's mutual." Mikey agreed as he helped up Katara.

Raph helped Toph up. "You okay kid?"

Toph soon regained her bearings. "I'll feel better, after I pound the shell out of those wannabe jerk-bags!" She exclaimed as she punched her right fist into her left palm.

Sokka woke up with a question for his mutant friends. "Hey, did you guys know there we're _more_ mutant turtles?! Who just so happened to look and sound like you guys?!"

"We only just found out now, we had no idea." Don answered.

"These guys knew everything about us, even me being the Avatar." Aang revealed.

"How could they have known?" Leo questioned.

Katara saw a bag that held her water satchel as well as Sokka's sword and boomerang. "We'll find out after we get out of here. Come on!"

She ran forward to grab the bag, only for Dark Mikey to land behind her and grab her shoudlers, causing her to yell and drop the bag as Dark Mikey chuckles.

"Hey guys! One of our guests escaped and…"

"Ahem!"

Dark Mikey looked in shock and gave a slight scream as he saw the glaring Leo, Aang, Raph, Toph, Sokka, Don, and Mikey. However the other Dark Turtles all jumped down from the ceiling close to their brother.

"No sudden moves!" Dark Leo demanded as he brought his blade close to Katara's neck. "Or the girl looses her head."

The Turtles glared even further with Sokka and Toph while Aang looked in shock as the Dark Turtles chuckled.

"Just what the shell are you guys?!" Leo demanded.

"You might say we are your brothers." Dark Leo answered.

"Or more precisely, you're _betters_." Dark Don added.

"Clones from your tissues, but with lots and lots of issues." Dark Mikey said in a rhyme with yet another insane cackle. The Turtles looked in surprise at that. These guys we're clones?

Dark Raph scoffed. "Heh, so you're the original shell-heads? You don't look so tough."

"Why don't you come here and say that to my face!" Raph challenged as he drew his sais.

"Don't do anything stupid Raph!" Sokka told him, due to the fact that they have his sister hostage.

"Wait, I'm the one you guys want. Don't hurt Katara!" Aang told the Dark Turtles in an attempt to reason with them.

Katara simply gave a knowing smirk. "Don't worry Aang, they won't." She moved her leg over Dark Mikey's foot and grabbed his arm before flipping him over with a yell.

"Nice flip Katara!" Mikey congratulated.

Katara bent all the water from the stalactites nearby and threw it at the Dark Turtles before tuning it into a cloud of steam to create a smokescreen; forcing them to cover their eyes and cough. She picked up the bag with their weapons and rejoined their friends.

"Wow, nice move Sugar Queen." Toph complemented.

"Yeah, where'd you learn that?" Raph asked amusingly.

Katara gave a smile. "Hey, you hang out with some ninjas you learn a few things."

"Well its time to show off what you've learned, cause here they come!" Leo stated as he drew his katanas while his brothers drew their respective weapons, as the Dark Turtles charged forward at their enemy.

"Aw yeah. It's payback time!" Toph stated with an eager grin.

Sokka clashed his space-sword once again with Dark Don's wrist guards; but Don pole-vaulted on his bo-staff and slammed both his feet into Dark Don's chest causing him to fall back; but Dark Don quickly regained his footing. Don attacked first with the swing from his staff, which Dark Don was able to block; but this let Sokka run in from behind and give a leg-sweep to knock Dark Don off his feet, which allowed Don to jump up and swing his staff right into Dark Don's face, causing him to tumble and fall back quite a bit away.

Katara and Mikey both jumped to avoid the relentless attacks from Dark Mikey. Mikey swung his nunchucks to parry Dark Mikey's clubs; allowing Katara to form water around her fist and give a punch right into Dark Mikey's back, sending him into a cartwheel kick from Mikey, but he got back up with his cackle still going.

Mikey soon got an idea. "You know, if you're my clone; that must mean you have the same weakness as me."

That got Dark Mikey's attention. "A weakness? What weakness?!" Dark Mikey questioned as he shook Mikey by the shoulders. "Tell me!"

"Katara! Now!" Mikey exclaimed as he ducked; letting Katara freeze her water into a large ball of ice that smashed into Dark Mikey.

Mikey got up with a smile. "Sometimes I can be a big gullible."

Katara meanwhile scowled at Dark Mikey. "That's what you get for insulting my mother!"

"Wait… he did what?!" Mikey also scowled at his clone. "Not cool dude!" He gave a powerful roundhouse kick, which sent Dark Mikey flying.

"Serves him right." Katara stated.

Mikey turned to her. "Hey, you know _I_ wouldn't say anything bad about your mom, right?"

Katara gave him an assured smile. "Don't worry, I know."

Dark Raph punched a flying bolder from Toph, only to have Raph jump onto his head hard, causing him to topple over and have Raph land right next to Toph. But Dark Raph soon got up with a growl.

"I'm gonna make you both not move no more!"

Raph had a perplexed look on his face. "Please don't tell me I sound like that!"

"No, you sound way worse." Toph joked; causing Raph to chuckle; this somehow angered Dark Raph even more as he brought his right talon-knuckle down on them, but Raph caught it in-between his sais and gave a strong head-but to knock Dark Raph back. While he was disoriented, Toph shot both her fists downward, causing an earth pillar to fly up under Dark Raph and send him high into the air.

Raph jumped up as Dark Raph fell down and with a series of punches and kicks sent Dark Raph falling hard back to the ground.

"That's what you get for messing with this team." Raph cracked as he and Toph both fist-bumped.

"That felt good." Toph agreed, satisfied with her payback.

Leo clashed blades with Dark Leo. "I think you'll find in a fair fight, my brothers, friends and I are _more_ than a match for you imposters." Leo said before charging forward.

Leo was meanwhile on the offensive against his clone; Aang came in right next to Leo with an air-blade, slamming into Dark Leo's side; letting Leo get in a few successful slashes. Both Leo and Aang jumped back and forward feet first, slamming them right into Dark Leo's face; knocking him out cold as he was sent flying to a wall.

Dark Raph, Dark Mikey, and Dark Don got up; but looked in fear as they saw the approaching Ninja Turtles and Team Avatar, causing them to back up near Dark Leo' unconscious body.

Dark Mikey gave a nervous laugh. "Uh… time out guys?" He tried, making a T with his hands.

"Nope. Game on." Toph replied.

"Then allow us a brief intermission." Dark Don said as he reached behind him and threw a grenade straight to the ceiling.

"Tooddles kiddies!" Dark Mikey said in a goodbye fashion as the grenade exploded; causing the ceiling to fall apart.

Dark Don picked up the knocked out Dark Leo as he, Dark Raph, and Dark Mikey all ran out one cave entrance as the cavern was collapsing.

Meanwhile; Toph and Aang had formed a large earth-dome to protect everyone from the collapsing cave; but that wasn't all. With both Earthbenders working together, they made a massive earth-pillar rise; carrying the dome and everyone inside straight up. They burst through the ceiling of the cave and went flying high into the night sky.

They we're all about to fall but Appa came flying in and caught them all in his saddle. Appa immediately began to fly as far away from the sight as possible.

"Everyone alright?" Leo asked the group.

"Still a bit freaked out, but otherwise okay." Sokka replied.

"Yeah I think we're all good for now." Mikey added.

Toph fell flat on her back. "What a night."

"I hear ya kid, worse vacation ever!" Raph stated.

"So what… what we're those things?" Katara asked.

"They said they we're clones of us." Leo replied.

"What's a clone?" Aang asked.

"A clone is basically a copy of someone." Don answered. "A 'twin' of sorts, only they aren't born, they're grown."

"Grown? What do you mean by that?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah how can a person not be born? It doesn't make sense?" Katara questioned.

Don began to explain. "You take a piece of someone. A drop of blood, a strand of hair, a nail, a piece of skin; it has their DNA in it."

"DNA?" Aang questioned.

"The building blocks of all life." Don continued. "Every living creature has DNA in them. If someone gets a piece of their DNA, a piece of them, and with the right equipment, they can replicate and make more, and eventually make a double of the being they got the original sample from."

"So… those guys… we're copies of you?" Toph asked for clarification.

"Essentially, yes." Don confirmed.

"What I want to know is where our 'evil twins' came from." Raph wondered.

"Something tells me we're gonna find out soon." Leo assumed. "Because I don't think we've seen the last of them."

* * *

 _Ember Island_

Zuko had successfully got a fire going; with Karai, Mai, Ty-Lee, and Azula sitting around him on the rocks. The next thing he threw in was his family painting from the beach house; much to the surprise of Karai and Ty-Lee.

"Zuko… what… what are you doing?" Karai questioned.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Zuko hastily replied.

"But… it's a painting of your family." Ty-Lee observed as she saw it burn in the flames.

"You think I care?" Zuko questioned.

"I think you do."

"You don't know me, so why don't you just mind your own business!?" Zuko exclaimed as he walked a way a bit.

Ty-Lee scoffed in a whisper. "I know you."

"No you don't!" Zuko turned back around. "You're stuck in your little 'Ty-Lee-World' where everything's great all the time!"

"Zuko that's enough." Karai defended.

"Leave her alone!" Mai added as well.

Zuko ignorned both of them and began to mockingly intimidate Ty-Lee. "I'm so pretty, look at me, I can walk on my hands! Whoo!" He made his own hand stand for a minute before falling on his back. "Circus freak!"

"Zuko!" Karai replied sharply, and glared at the laughing Azula while tears formed in Ty-Lee's eyes.

"No Karai, he's right. I _am_ a circus freak." Ty-Lee began. "Go ahead and laugh all you guys want, you want to know why I joined the circus?!"

"Here we go." Azula mused in annoyance.

"Do you have any idea what my home life was like?" Ty-Lee began. "Growing up with six sisters who look exactly like me?! It was like I didn't even have my own name!"

Karai looked in sympathy, as Ty-Lee continued, never expecting something like this from someone who usually has a cheery demeanor.

Ty-Lee fell on her hands and knees, crying, as she continued. "I joined the circus because I was scared of spending the rest of my life as part of a matched set. At least I'm different now." She got up with a glare. "Circus freak is a complement!"

"Guess that explains why you need ten boyfriends to." Mai commented.

Ty-Lee took offense to that statement. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Attention issues? You couldn't get enough attention when you we're a kid, so you're trying to make up for it now." Mai summed up.

"Well, what's _your_ excuse Mai?" Ty-Lee questioned. "You we're an only child for fifteen years. But even with all that attention, you're aura is this dingy, pasty, grey…!"

"I don't believe in auras." Mai said simply.

"Yeah, you don't believe in anything." Zuko told her.

"I think you have said enough Zuko." Karai said to him.

"Hey, its not his fault that I'm not as high-strung and crazy as the rest of you." Mai said to Karai.

"Well I wish you would be high-strung and crazy for once, instead of keeping all your feelings bottled up inside." Zuko stated. "She just called your aura 'dingy', are you gonna take that?!"

"What do you want from me?" Mai questioned as she laid flat on her rock. "You want a teary confession about how hard my childhood was? Well it wasn't. I was a rich only child who got anything I wanted. As long as I behaved, and sat still, and didn't speak unless spoken to…"

Karai and Zuko both listened as Mai talked.

"My mother said I had to keep out of trouble, we had my dad's political career to worry about."

Karai understood Mai a bit; her own childhood wasn't exactly filled with joy as she did everything to help her own father, with both official business, and unofficial.

"Well that's it then." Azula figured out. "You had a controlling mother who had certain expectations, and if you strayed from them you we're shot down." She said with a smirk. "That's why you're afraid to care about anything and why you can't express yourself." Karai glared at Azula once she said that.

"You want me to express myself?" Mai questioned as she shot up. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Karai gave a slight smile at that, as did Zuko as he tried to approach her. "I like it when you express yourself." He tried to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Mai yelled at him. "I'm still mad at you." She sat back down as Zuko's anger returned.

"My life hasn't been that easy either Mai!"

"Whatever, that doesn't excuse the way you've been acting!" Mai replied.

Ty-Lee tried to diffuse the tension. "Calm down you guys! This much negative energy is bad for your skin, you'll totally break out."

Before Karai could add anything, Zuko's anger increased even more. "Bad skin!? Normal teenagers worry about bad skin! I don't have that luxury. My father decided to teach me a permanent lesson on my face!" He exclaimed, pointing at his scar.

"What?!" Karai questioned in shock.

"Yeah, my Dad gave me this scar! You happy now!?" Zuko exclaimed to Karai.

"Zuko that isn't… I didn't mean I…" Karai couldn't find the right words, as she did not expect to hear that. How could any father scar his own child? Her father never did.

Zuko turned around and faced the ocean. "For so long I thought if my dad accepted me, I'd be happy! I'm back home now, my dad talks to me." Zuko scoffed. "He even thinks I'm a hero!" Karai grimaced a bit, remembering the belief of the Avatar's death and that her own father knew the truth, as did she.

"Everything should be perfect, right?! I should be happy now! But I'm not! I'm angrier than ever and I don't know why!"

"There's a simple question you need to answer then, who are you angry at?" Azula asked.

"No one. I'm just angry." Zuko stated, but no one was convinced.

"Yeah, who are you angry at, Zuko?" Mai questioned.

"Everyone! I don't know!" He held his head in anger and confusion.

"Is it Dad?" Azula asked.

"No, no."

"My father?" Karai questioned.

"Yeah.. a bit… maybe… no… No!" Karai was mildly surprised at that.

"You're Uncle? Ty-Lee inquired.

"Me?" Azula asked.

"No. No! No! No!" Zuko exclaimed, sounding more confused as he said it.

"Then who? Who are you angry at?" Mai asked.

"Answer the question Zuko." Azula pressured.

"Talk to us!" Ty-Lee insisted.

"Say something." Karai also insisted

"Answer the question." Mai told him.

"Come on answer it." Azula added.

That was it. Zuko couldn't hold it in any longer. "I'M ANGRY AT MYSELF!" Zuko yelled as he threw his arms out; causing the fire to explode in a stream of fury; forcing the girls to shield their eyes as the fire died, with only embers remaining.

"Why?" Karai asked.

"Because I'm confused." Zuko replied in honesty, not facing any of them. "Because I'm not sure I know the difference between right and wrong anymore."

"Zuko…" Karai breathed with sympathy clearly evident in her voice.

Mai walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I know one thing I care about, I care about you."

Zuko smiled at that as both leaned in for a kiss, something Karai and Ty-Lee both smiled at; but all vanished as Azula gave a sarcastic clap.

"Well, those we're wonderful performances everyone."

"No one asked you Azula." Karai told her with a glare. "Why do you always feel the need to stomp on everyone and point out their flaws? To make them feel worthless and that what they say has no meaning what so ever?!"

"I didn't realize you had so much contempt for me Karai, what did I ever do to earn that?" Azula asked in false sincerity.

"You know perfectly well." Karai told her. "I do not have respect for those who think so little on the value of others; to someone who has no honor and wouldn't know honor if it stared at them in the face; much like most of this country."

Mai and Ty-Lee we're both surprised at this. "Karai? What are you saying?" Ty-Lee asked

"Its all wrong."

"What's wrong?" Mai questioned.

"This war is wrong." Karai began as she faced the ocean standing up. "The hate and violence in this world is wrong. The Fire Nation is wrong. Ozai is wrong."

"Is that so?" Azula questioned in a slight glare. "Maybe I'm wrong to. For believing you'd contribute and see this thing through to the end."

"The end of what Azula?" Karai questioned as she turned around. "The human race on this planet?! Because that is where we are heading!"

"Where we are heading is great and glorious era for the Fire Nation!" Azula argued.

"Someone who ignores and mocks the suffering of others so callously has a _long_ way to go before achieving greatness." Karai stated. "The destruction that is left in our wake, the lives we ruin; maybe _we're_ the problem!"

Azula glared a bit. "Well the Foot isn't so righteous either. I don't know if you noticed Karai, but you're father isn't so sentimental either."

"You do not know my father."

"I think Azula may actually have a point Karai." Ty-Lee began. "Look, you're an awesome person and I'm glad to have you as a friend, but your dad… the Shredder… his aura is blood red! I don't see any good in it at all! He terrifies me so much I have nightmares about him!"

"I'm just gonna go out and say it Karai, the Shredder is evil." Mai told her.

Karai looked down for a bit. "You all only know the Shredder as a merciless warrior." She looked back up. "But I knew another side of him."

* * *

 _Flashback_

Oroku Saki is walking through the rain with an umbrella through a slum area in Japan.

" _It was he who discovered me many years ago in Japan after my parents had abandoned me."_

Oroku Saki heard a slight crash in the building next to him. He walked towards it and brushed away a torn curtain to reveal a very young and scowling Karai.

" _He took me into his home, he allowed me to train alongside him. Thus I learned the art of ninjitsu."_

Both Saki and the toddler Karai we're in his dojo, with Saki practicing his martial arts and the toddler Karai mimicking them by his side.

" _I respected him, and he trusted me."_

A teenage Karai is aiming a bow and arrow at Oroku Saki as she sent multiple arrows in his direction, which he easily deflected with his hands.

" _To me, he was Oroku Saki."_

Karai, now her current age, is kneeling before Oroku Saki, in her Foot uniform, becoming a full-fledged kunoichi. He handed her a sheathed katana.

" _He was more than just my master; he became my father."_

 _(End flashback)_

* * *

"So… you're not related to him? You're adopted?" Mai asked.

"That is correct." Karai confirmed.

"Well that explains why you're aura is so different from his." Ty-Lee said. "In fact, out of all those Foot guys; you're aura is the least scary."

"Thank you… I think." Karai responded.

"So that's why you follow him." Azula surmised. "You do everything he asks because you owe him, you feel obligated."

"An obligation that any child would have to their parent, to help them." Karai retorted. "That may well be the only thing you and I have in common, Azula."

Azula gave a slight smirk. "About time we agree on something."

Zuko honestly did not know how to respond to Karai's statement. He was quite surprised to say the least. But there was one thing he was certain of; out of all people in the Foot, she was the only one he can trust. He looked towards the sky.

"Its late, we should probably head back."

Everyone pretty much agreed and decided to walk back to their beach house they we're staying at.

* * *

It was still night time as Mai, Ty-Lee, and even Azula slept in their beds; the only one who was not asleep was Zuko as he sat on a single chair, staring straight up at the stars in the sky, he heard some footsteps and saw Karai walk towards him.

"May I join you?"

Zuko motioned for her to sit next to him in a nearby chair, which she did. "You should probably get some sleep."

"We are on a vacation of sorts." Karai replied. "And I'm not really sleepy."

"Yeah, me neither."

They both stared up at the many stars in the sky. "They are rather beautiful. The stars."

"Yeah, they are." Zuko replied, his eyes not leaving from the sky.

Karai had a question to ask. "You're father really did that to you?" Zuko nodded in confirmation. "Does it hurt?"

Zuko was a bit surprised; no one really asked him that. "Just the memory."

"I'm sorry. No one should ever have to endure something like that." Karai said in honest sincerity.

"Its alright." Zuko dismissed. "You really aren't like your father, are you?"

"Nor do I feel you're like yours." Karai responded. "I think you and I may have more in common then what we first thought."

"Who would of thought, huh?" Zuko guessed with a bit of a chuckle. His demeanor turned serious. "Karai, there's something you need to know; but you can't tell anyone, this is just between us."

Karai was both concerned and interested at the same time. "What is it?"

Zuko sighed. "You recall what happened back in Ba-Sing-Se?" Karai nodded. "I helped you and the Foot take down the Avatar, and those Turtles. But I didn't have a choice in it."

"What do you mean by that."

"The Shredder… he said if I didn't help him… he'd…" He struggled to get this out. "He'd kill everyone I knew."

Karai was so surprised that she stood up out of her seat. "What?!"

Zuko nodded in shame. "My family, my friends, he said he'd hunt them all down and butcher them if I didn't help him. I looked into his eyes and I saw how dead serious I was." He stood up and looked towards Karai with every bit of seriousness in his eyes. "Karai, I don't want to offend you; but whatever you think you saw in him when he found you, I didn't see anything, other than evil. Pure evil."

Karai was completely speechless; she did not know what to say.

"You can't tell anyone I told you this." Zuko told her. "You might be the only one I can trust right now."

"I…" Karai regained her composure. "I promise, I will not say a thing."

Zuko smiled, feeling a sense of relief, like a weight had been removed from his shoulders. "Thank you. I'm heading to bed."

Karai placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder, getting his attention. "Zuko… you are not a bad person." He looked at her with surprise. "You're just trying hard to be."

With nothing else needing to be said, Karai walked back inside the house, leaving a surprised Zuko. He stood there for a minute and let Karai's words sink in. He sighed before a small smile formed on his face and he walked back inside.

 **Done.**

 **Once again, I apologize for the long update as I had a lot on my plate. I hope you all enjoy this.**

 **I skipped some of the awkward moments in this episode because I honestly did not like them.**

 **Karai and Zuko are bonding as they find they have more in common then they first originally thought (No there will not be a ZukoXKarai pairing).**

 **The Turtles and Gaang have just met the Dark Turtles, who will be giving our heroes quite a bit of trouble.**

 **(On a separate note, I will NOT be doing a Legend of Korra sequel to this story. Sorry, but I am not a real fan of LOK)**

 **What's next for our heroes? Find out next time on Worlds Collide.**

 **Happy New Year to all my followers.**


	19. Two Tales of Two Brothers

**Hello everyone. Thank you for waiting, this chapter I have wanted to do for a while; it will act as a "double-flashback" so to speak. You'll see what that means as you read. Without further delay, here is the next chapter.**

 **Two Tales of Two Brothers**

Aang stood in an area filled with nothing but darkness, the darkness was soon illuminated by golden fire as a figure approached Aang, this was Hamato Yoshi, dressed in blue-ninja-like robes as he approached the young avatar.

"Greetings, Avatar Aang."

"Yoshi!?" Aang questioned in confusion. "How are you…?"

"There is something I wish to share with you" Yoshi told him. "You must travel to this island, both the home and burial ground of your predecessor Roku." Aang saw a small black island in the middle of the ocean with two extinct volcanoes. "On the eve of the Summer Solstice of your world, where spiritual energy is at its peak."

To say Aang was confused would have been an understatement, but he nodded. "Alright, I'll see you then."

This was all the dream of the sleeping Avatar.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Capital_

Karai slept on a bed in her own private chambers of the Foot's base. She heard a series of footsteps outside her door, causing her to open her eyes. She grabbed a tanto off her wall and quickly moved outside to find no one there. She glanced upon the ground to find a note, which she picked up and began to read aloud.

"'You'll need to understand how this war began.'" Karai read the note. "'The answer may come as a surprise.'"

* * *

At the same time, Zuko, who had also been sleeping had found a similar note near his door in the middle of the night.

"'You need to know the story of your great-grandfather's demise. It will reveal your own destiny.'" Zuko read.

* * *

 _The Next Day_

A cloud moved above the ocean at a very quick pace, too quick for a normal cloud. It wasn't a normal cloud however, it was in fact a cover for Appa, as a result of Aang's Airbending, as he carried Leo, Raph, Katara, Toph, Mikey, Sokka, and Don towards their intended destination.

"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Raph questioned.

"Aang said he saw the spirit of Master Yoshi and said he needed to come here." Leo answered.

"So the kid talks to dead people?" Mikey questioned. "That is messed up."

"Now you know how I feel." Sokka said.

Aang soon dispelled the cloud-cover. "There it is!" He pointed to the group. "There's Roku's home."

"Hold on." Mikey began. "If Yoshi's ghost wants to talk to you, why come to this place if it belonged to Roku?" He asked as Appa landed.

"Yoshi said Roku died here." Aang replied. "Apparently there's a lot of spiritual energy here."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." Mikey guessed, even though it didn't make a lick of sense to him.

Everyone began to climb up off of Appa. "But, there's nothing here." Katara observed.

Toph jumped off and landed on the ground. "Yes there is." She contradicted as she felt everything under the black ground. "An entire village. Hundreds of houses, all completely buried in ash."

"Most likely from a volcanic eruption that happened a long time ago." Don guessed. "Understandable, considering there's two large volcanoes on this island"

* * *

 _Fire Nation Capital_

Karai was walking through a large hall, decorated by large portraits of many figures all dressed in the same kind of robes that she saw Fire Lord Ozai wear. She could only guess they we're Fire Lords as well. She soon saw Zuko staring in front of one.

"Good morning." She greeted the young fire prince.

Zuko turned around with a casual smile. "Hello Karai." She was one of the few people with whom he felt comfortable around.

She walked up next to him, looking at the portrait. "Are all of these men past Fire Lords?" Zuko nodded in confirmation. "Who is this one?"

"My great-grandfather, Sozin."

Someone else happened to pass by them. "So you've taken in interest in our history, have you Karai?"

Karai turned around. "Azula." She greeted simply, not interested in conversation. "I am merley curious, that is all; but I do not need any information from you per say."

Azula didn't give any hostility toward that answer. "Fine, suit yourself." She turned to her brother. "Its never too early for a sitting with the court painting Zuko, make sure he gets your good side." That was an obvious jab at his scar, something both Zuko and Karai glared at.

"Wait." Zuko stopped his sister. "I need to ask you something, what do you remember about our great-grandfather's history?"

Karai raised an eyebrow at this, as Azula also found herself a bit curious to Zuko's question.

"Oh Zuko, its so strange how your mind works." Azula began to answer his question. "Fire Lord Sozin began the war."

That caught Karai's attention. "He started it? Why?"

"He spent his early years secretly preparing for it." Azula continued. "But he was patient as he was clever. He famously waited for the comet, later renamed Sozin's Comet, and used its power to launch his full-scale invasion of the world."

"You did not answer my question." Karai told the younger girl. "I didn't ask 'how' he started the war, I asked ' _why_ '. What was his reason behind it? Was a dispute with the other nations? A violation of a treaty? What was his reason?"

"The reason, Karai, was to spread the Fire Nation's prosperity throughout the world." Azula replied.

Karai turned towards her with a questionable look. "That's it?"

"What do you mean, 'that's it'?" Azula questioned.

"He started a war that lasted an entire century; one where this entire world, even his own nation, paid for it with blood and death, just to spread prosperity. That seems a ridiculous reason to me." Karai stated.

That is when Azula glared. "Be careful Karai. Some of us may not like you insulting our history."

Zuko decided to end this before a fight could start. "How did he die?"

"Didn't you pay any attention in school, Zuko?" Azula asked. "He died peacefully in his sleep. He was ancient." She walked away from the duo, who both looked at the painting.

It was silent for a few minutes before Zuko spoke to one whom he could consider a friend. "Karai, I found a note last night, telling me I need to know more of my 'great-grandfather's demise'."

Karai was slightly surprised at that. "Did you find who left you that note?"

"No."

"I had a similar note myself." Karai revealed, surprising Zuko. "I need to know how this war started. I have a feeling there's more to it than what has been told in your nation's history."

Zuko looked around for a bit and made sure the two we're alone. "Lets what we both can find out tonight, meet me in my room with your note."

Karai nodded in understanding.

* * *

 _Roku's Island_

Aang sat on a ledge that faced the setting sun with all his friends behind him.

"So how does this work?" Mikey asked.

"Aang is going to enter the spirit world." Katara answered.

"Is there gonna be some fancy portal opening up?" Raph questioned.

"Uh no. His body is going to stay where it is, but his spirit is going to leave his body and enter the spirit the world, where apparently your Master Yoshi is waiting." Katara explained.

"You guys can do that here?" Don asked in slight amazement.

"No, only Aang can since he's the Avatar." Katara explained.

"I got pulled into the spirit world one time by some angry panda." Sokka remembered.

Raph chuckled. "You got beaten up by a panda?!" He laughed along with Toph and Mikey.

"You are such a wuss Sokka!" Toph said as she, Mikey, and Raph all laughed.

"Hey this panda was huge! And it was a super-scary spirit panda!" Sokka exclaimed at them; but they still kept laughing.

Leo ignored this as he looked towards Aang. "Hey guys." He said, getting everyone's attention. "I think something's happening." Aang's tattoos began to glow white.

* * *

Aang had now entered the Spirit World. He stood on top of a large mountaintop with clouds everywhere. He looked around and saw a golden cloud coming toward him, on top of the cloud was Hamato Yoshi, dressed in blue ninja robes. He greeted the Avatar with a smile.

* * *

 _Zuko's room_

Karai had entered Zuko's chambers some time ago as the two looked over each other's notes. Karai could read it as apparently this langue was no different from Japanese for some reason. So far, they have yet to find anything.

"Anything?" Zuko asked.

"Not yet." Karai replied. She looked at her note in different angles and when it came near Zuko's lamp, she noticed something deep in the writing.

Becoming curious, Karai walked closer to the lamp and held the note right to it; she could make out some writing. "Zuko."

Zuko saw this. He began to read it, but found something that was most curious. "It's not complete. It's only part of a message. I…" Zuko eyes widened in realization as he took his note and held it next to Karai's

The light from the lamp revealed hidden writing in Zuko's note as well. He held it very close to Karai's as it laid a completed message, which Zuko read aloud.

"'The Fire Sages keep the secret history in the Dragon-Bone catacombs.'"

It was clear that this message was intended for both of them, it was something they both needed to see; they looked to each other in silent understanding and nodded.

* * *

 _Fire Sage Temple_

Dusk had fallen onto the Fire Nation as a single sage walked through the temple. He walked to the very center of the courtyard towards a tile with the Fire Nation symbol on it. He shot his palm to the symbol with a fire-jab. Streams of fire shot out from small openings around the symbol as it opened and revealed a secret stairway.

Karai, in her foot-uniform, and Zuko, in a hooded-robe both saw this while hiding behind a pair of pillars just as the door closed.

The duo waited for at least two hours to avoid drawing any attention as the full moon rose. They then began to walk towards the platform, once they we're on top of it, Zuko mimicked the same technique he saw the sage use, revealing the secret stairway as they both walked down inside.

The catacombs looked like they we're made from bones as the ceiling was decorated with a long spine and rib cage, and dragon-like skulls decorated the walls.

"What is this place?" Karai questioned.

"This is where the Fire Lords are buried." Zuko answered.

"This place." Karai looked around at the bones. "I understand it is a place for the deceased, but I find the use of the bones to decorate it to be most unsettling."

"Good, so it's not just me." Zuko replied as they began to walk through the catacombs.

Zuko and Karai had walked to a statue of Fire Lord Sozin. Zuko placed his palm on the Fire Nation symbol on the statue's chest and shot a gentle stream of fire into it, the eyes and mouth of the statue lit a flame briefly before a doorway opened behind the statue leaving a dusty room filled with scrolls, cobwebs, and treasures.

They both walked in, carrying lanterns, and came towards a curling dragon statue at the very back of the room, with a table below it and a series of scrolls on top.

"The final testament of Fire Lord Sozin." Zuko identified the final scroll as he reached for it.

* * *

 _Spirit World_

"I am glad you made it, Avatar Aang." Yoshi reached his hand forward as Aang took it and mounted the cloud, which began to fly into the sky.

"Where are you taking me?"

"I wish for you to see my past." Yoshi answered. "And how it led to the events that have intertwined you and your friends, new and old."

They both flew into a bright light in the distance.

* * *

 _Catacombs_

Zuko and Karai both sat down, with the two lamps providing an ample amount of light, and began to read the scroll that was the final testament of Zuko's great-grandfather.

" _As I feel my own life dimming, I can't help but think back to a time, when everything was so much brighter. I remember my friend"_

* * *

 _Fire Nation Royal Garden; nearly 200 years ago._

A teenage Roku and a teenage Sozin both practiced their fire-bending in a sparring match that made the two look like they we're more playing than working out.

They both shot multiple fire-blasts towards each other, which they both manage to divert or avoid with attacks and swerves. Sozin shot one blast with his foot and noticed Roku near a tree-root. He surged forward, forcing Roku to back up, who almost tripped on the root, but Roku caught him before letting him fall to the ground.

"Looks like I win again Roku." Prince Sozin stated.

"Are you kidding?" Roku joked. "The tree-root did all the work." Prince Sozin offered Roku his hand, which he took and was quickly helped up. "Nice one Sozin."

It was evident these two we're best friends, almost like brothers.

They both walked out of the garden, though Roku stiffened up as he saw a beautiful girl with dark hair and blue eyes walk by, he clearly had a crush on her, just as she walked past he looked at her with a love-struck expression and a blush.

"Say something to her." Sozin encouraged with a slight elbow.

Roku was about to walk up and say something, something the girl noticed but walked away with a blush and smile. Roku couldn't muster the courage so he fell flat on his back. Sozin sat behind him on a patch of grass, pulled a bit out of the ground and sprinkled it on Roku's face.

* * *

 _Japan; 1960s_

Aang and Yoshi, both as blue see-through spirits, had appeared on the streets of a small and run-down town in Japan.

"Where are we?" Aang asked.

"This is my home country of Japan, in my world, the world where your Turtle-friends are from, roughly forty years ago." Yoshi's spirit answered.

Aang looked around and saw many children in run-down clothes looking and begging for food and money. He couldn't help but feel sorry.

"What is with this place?"

"My world to also had a great war, a world war in fact, the second one of the planet." Yoshi's spirit answered.

"A world war?" Aang questioned in quite surprise.

"Indeed, Japan was not the best of nations during the war and has committed numerous crimes, not unlike the Fire Nation in your world. We we're dealt a devastating defeat, one that was necessary. It would take a while for Japan to get back on its feet, so it wasn't uncommon to see orphaned children begging for food and money." Yoshi's spirit explained.

Aang noticed a pair of young boys, both in run-down clothes. He noticed one of them and recognized one. "Yoshi… is that…?"

"Me? Yes." Yoshi's spirit revealed. "The boy with me was named Yukio Mashimi, and he was my best friend. Like many other children, we we're both orphans who had very little food and no where to go."

The young Yoshi and Mashimi both looked and begged, but had received nothing. The young Yoshi looked sad, while the young Mashimi looked angry. Mashimi looked and saw something that caught both his and his friend's attention.

A small and pudgy elderly man with a thin grey beard, wearing a long green robe and a kasa walked by. Out of his sleeve fell a coin, which rolled a bit and stopped before the two boys.

"Wow! Five yen!" Young Yoshi said in slight amazement as he picked up the coin.

"Sshh. Yoshi lets keep it." Young Mashimi told him.

"No Mashimi." Young Yoshi contradicted. "That would not be right."

"Yoshi!" Young Mashimi lightly exclaimed as his young friend walked towards the elderly man, and gave a slight scowl, something Aang noticed.

"Sir, sir, excuse me sir!" Young Yoshi called out to the short and elderly man, who turned around. "You dropped your money."

"What is this?" The short man questioned as young Yoshi and Mashimi walked to him. "So much honesty in one so very hungry?" He questioned as young Yoshi gave him back the coin. He opened his palm, revealing the coin. "Try as quickly as you can to snatch the coin from my hand, and you may keep it."

Aang recognized this. "Hey, Gyatso used to play a game like this with me when I was seven." He recalled with a smile. "He'd try to have me snatch a pebble from his hand, but he kept closing it."

Yoshi's spirit gave a slight smile of amusement. "This however, was no game for us. It was a test."

Young Mashimi and Yoshi shrugged at each other at the elderly man's proposal. Mashimi tried first to snatch it, but the man closed his hand before he could.

"I don't think so." He teased.

Aang giggled slightly while the young Mashimi scowled. Now it was the young Yoshi's turn. He quickly made his move just as the man closed his hand.

"Ha! Too slow. The both of…" the man opened his hand. "Huh?" The coin was gone. Yoshi held it in his hand.

"Wow Yoshi, you're fast! I couldn't have snatched the coin." Aang praised, to which Yoshi's spirit smiled.

"Such speed. A natural gift." The elderly man smiled as he held his beard. "Come, let me buy you something to eat." He proposed to Yoshi.

"And my friend to? Please sir."

The elderly man looked for a bit as he saw both boys smiling. "Alright, yes. The both of you." Both boys laughed. "Follow me." The man gestured. "Quickly, no doddling!"

"Who was that? He has got to be the shortest old man I've ever seen." Aang asked.

"That man is called the Ancient One." Yoshi's spirit answered.

"The 'Ancient One'?" Aang questioned. "So is he… old?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure of his age." Yoshi's spirit replied. "But what is important is that man is also my adoptive father, and my sensei."

* * *

 _Fire Nation, Past_

As Karai and Zuko continued to read the scroll, the flashback in the Fire Nation shifted to a large birthday celebration. Both Prince Sozin and Roku walked out and they we're greeted with a large applause; they both shared the same birthday. Yoshi saw the same girl as before, who blushed as he looked at her.

Roku lost his footing briefly on the stairs, but Sozin caught him before he fell down. Both friends laughed; but all noises stopped as a group of Fire Sages walked onto the scene.

"Did something happen to my father?" Sozin asked them.

"No Prince Sozin." The lead Sage replied. "We are here to announce the identity of the next Avatar." That caught everyone's attention.

"It is our honor to serve you…" They bowed down. "Avatar Roku."

The young man's eyes widened as his mouth opened wide, never expecting this. Everyone else soon bowed down as well, even Prince Sozin kneeled before him.

* * *

 _Catacombs, present day_

Karai was confused by what she just read. "I… I do not understand. I thought that young boy was the Avatar." She said, referring to Aang.

"He is, they both are." Zuko replied. "The Avatar isn't just one person. It's a long line of incarnations. When one Avatar dies, a new one is born in a different part of the world as a different bender. A Firebender, then an Airbender, then a Waterbender, then an Earthbender, and back to fire as the cycle repeats."

"Reincarnations?" Karai questioned. "So this 'Roku' is the same person as that one boy with the arrow-tattoos?"

"Yes." Zuko replied. "The Avatar is also the master of all four elements."

To say Karai was surprised would have been an understatement. "Incredible. To control all the elements, virtually the entire world… and reincarnation, is not too different from… immortality almost." Her eyes slightly widened. "In a way.. the Avatar could be considered… a god."

Zuko looked to Karai with surprise. "I.. I never thought of it that way." He looked down slightly. "But we're getting off track, lets just keep reading."

Karai regained her composure. "Yes, lets continue."

* * *

 _Fire Nation – Flashback – Roku's Room_

" _Soon the day came when my friend Roku had to leave the Fire Nation and face his destiny as the Avatar. He needed to train across the world so he could master the other elements."_

Roku looked down in his room, sitting on his bed, as Sozin walked with a smile. "Hey, why aren't you packed yet, all-powerful-Avatar." He said in a joking tone. He noticed his friend's expression and tried to cheer him up.

"Come on!" He jumped in. "Show me how it's done with all four kinds of bending!" He tried to mimic Airbending, Earthbending, and Waterbending forms.

"I started packing." Roku began. "Then the Fire Sages told me I wouldn't be needing any 'worldly possessions' anymore."

"Oh." Prince Sozin replied. He sat down next to his friend.

"It happened so fast… everything's going to be different now." Roku said, in a tone that indicated he was not looking forward to this.

Sozin then took off the headpiece he was wearing and handed it to Roku. "Here, I hope you're at least allowed to have this."

"But this is a royal artifact." The surprised Roku said. "It's supposed to be worn by the crown prince."

"I want _you_ to have it." Sozin insisted.

Roku took it with a smile as he placed it in his hair. Both stood up and bowed to each other.

* * *

 _Japan, 1960's._

The Ancient One had led the young Yoshi and Mashimi to his home, a large house that was decorated with an even larger and beautiful garden.

"Wow! This place is amazing!" Aang observed with a grin.

"And it was to be my home." Yoshi's spirit revealed.

Before Aang could answer, the two spirits we're taken inside we're they could see the young Yoshi and Mashimi eating some food, or rather inhaling it. The Ancient One gave an amused smile at this.

"The Ancient One took Mashimi and myself into his home, he adopted us." Yoshi's spirit revealed. "He became our father."

"Wow. He seems like a really great guy. He almost reminds me of Gyatso." Aang reminisced.

"But he was not just our father." Yoshi's spirit revealed as he showed Aang a scene of the young Yoshi and Mashimi, both in martial-arts robes, practicing punches and kicks in the Ancient One's dojo. "He became our master and trained us in the art of ninjitsu."

Aang had saw time pass pretty quickly as Yoshi and Mashimi we're now teenagers, practicing more advanced techniques of ninjitsu.

"Time passed, year after year, Mashimi and I learned much and trained hard, becoming well-trained martial artists." Yoshi's spirit continued to explain.

Aang now saw time pass again as Yoshi and Mashimi had now become young men, practicing a series of kicks as their sensei the Ancient One watched them.

"You Mashimi look inseparable, you two are always together." Aang observed.

"Indeed, we we're like brothers, best of friends who did almost everything together." Yoshi's spirit replied. "We even both fell in love at the same time, with the same woman."

Both we're now outside where Aang could see a very beautiful young woman with dark hair and green eyes. She wore a white dress decorated with blue flowers as she attended the flower garden.

"Who is that?" Aang asked

"Tang Shen." Yoshi's spirit answered. "Like us, she was an orphaned, taken into the Ancient One's home and raised by him. She was perfection." Aang noticed the way Yoshi's spirit was looking at her. "She was caring, intelligent, beautiful, and compassionate."

Aang turned around and saw Yoshi and Mashimi both watching her from the house. They continued to watch as she attended the laundry. Getting mischievous, Mashimi pushed Yoshi from behind, causing him to stumble and fall, letting Mashimi laughed. Tang Shen also saw this and giggled as well.

"Love is hard, especially when one is young." Yoshi's spirit said.

"Tell me about it." Aang replied, as he understood exactly what he meant.

"Don't worry, it gets better." Yoshi's spirit revealed as the two we're now in the kitchen. Tang Shen was cutting up a radish, and Mashimi was eating some food. "What I cared for most about Tang Shen was the effort she put in, to make sure our 'family' was well-fed and cared for."

"She's just like Katara." Aang stated.

"That care would also extend to surprise visitors as well." Yoshi's spirit continued.

Aang saw what he meant as he saw a rat enter from a crack in the wall. Mashimi spotted the rat, he picked up a nearby katana and held it close to the rat, much to Aang's surprise.

"What's he doing?" Aang questioned.

"Mashimi saw the rat as an intruder, and his only thought was to exterminate it." Yoshi's spirit explained.

Mashimi was ready to decapitate the rat right then and there, but Tang Shen grabbed the blade and pulled it away.

"Mashimi no!"

Aang gave a slight sign of relief. "While Mashimi saw the rat as an intruder, Tang Shen saw an innocent, hungry creature, and her only thought was to care for it." Yoshi's spirit said.

Tang Shen cut a small piece of her radish and handed to the rat, which began to chew on it. She had then decided to keep the curious rat as a pet.

The scene shifted to the outside where Aang saw the younger Yoshi build a little house for the rat. He and Tang Shen sat on a large rock. The rat ate a snack in the little house and ran up to Tang Shen's shoulder and rubbed against her, causing her to smile.

"You built that for her?" Aang asked Yoshi's spirit.

"I was persistent. Something Tang Shen would soon notice as well."

They both saw the scene shift again to a nearby stream as Yoshi and Mashimi walked through it, they playfully picked up Tang Shen and put her over their shoulders. All three laughed as they crossed the stream, even Aang laughed a bit as well. He noticed how Yoshi and Tang Shen smiled towards each other, however, Aang's smile when he noticed the jealous look on Mashimi's face.

* * *

Karai and Zuko continued to read Sozin's testament. Karai found herself even more interested as she continued to read.

" _Twelve long years passed before I saw my friend again. When Roku returned, he was a fully-realized Avatar, and I had changed as well."_

Avatar Roku, now a 28 year old man walked into the Fire Lord's throne room where he greeted his old friend.

"Sozin, or should I say, Fire Lord?" Roku friendly greeted.

"Customarily, my subjects bow before greeting me." Fire Lord Sozin stated before he walked down to face Roku. "But you're the exception."

They both embraced each other as they we're still friends, even after twelve years.

* * *

 _Japan – Yoshi's flashback_

Aang and Yoshi's spirit we're in the city at night watching as Yoshi, in a yellow jumpsuit, Tang Shen, and Mashimi, in a red jumpsuit, we're walking and enjoying the city.

"So what's going on now?" Aang asked.

"What started out as a simple walk through the city, would become an event that would change all our lives, forever."

Before Aang could ask what Yoshi's spirit meant by that, he, and the young group, heard a scuffle in a nearby alleyway.

"No! Stay away! Please!"

They all turned and saw a man in a tuxedo with slight purple hair and glasses getting attacked by four masked men whom Aang instantly recognized with wide eyes.

"No way. Are those guys… Foot Ninja?!"

"Indeed they are." Yoshi's spirit confirmed.

"Four against one? Have they no honor?!" An angry Yoshi questioned. "Lets even the odds and set things right!"

Despite being unarmed, Yoshi and Mashimi ran forward against the four Foot Ninja attacking the mysterious man. They both jumped forward and landed hard kicks on the two front-most Foot Ninja, taking them down almost instantly.

The man looked up to see Yoshi and Mashimi standing back-to-back and smiling at each other as they faced the remaining Foot Ninja. They nodded to each other and separated. Mashimi surged to the Ninja closest to him, he quickly avoided a slash from the Ninja's katana, and jumped to kick the katana out of his hand before Mashimi gave another kick to knock the Ninja back.

The flying katana reached Yoshi, which he grabbed and took a combat stance before facing the only remaining Ninja. Yoshi ran forward as the Ninja slashed, Yoshi parried the katana with his own, leapt up over the Ninja. As he was in the air, Yoshi grabbed the Ninja by the back of his shirt and used the momentum tossed him over his head and send him flying.

"Whoa!" Aang exclaimed with a wide smile. "You and Mashimi took down those guys in less than a minute! When my friends and I first fought those guys they had us on the ropes."

"Understandable, considering Ninjitsu is a technique that is foreign to you." Yoshi's spirit replied. "However, you must brace yourself Avatar, for what you are about to see next will be most unsettling."

Aang was about to ask what me meant, but he saw the mysterious man stand up; both the man and Aang noticed a Foot Ninja getting back up with his katana and heading straight for Mashimi. The man ran forward and pushed Mashimi out of the way, just as the Ninja sliced off the arm of the man.

Aang looked in shock, but his shock became one of complete and utter surprise as he had expected to see blood, but instead saw metal and electricity at the man's severed arm; the same expression was also present on Yoshi and Mashimi's faces. He grabbed the Ninja and threw him away with incredible strength.

Aang could not comprehend what he just saw. "But… How…. I… what… what in name of the spirits?! What kind of man is he!?"

Yoshi's spirit then began to explain. "He is not a man at all, he is an Utrom. An Utrom named Mortu."

"What the shell is an Utrom?!" Aang exclaimed, still not getting over his recent surprise.

"An extraterrestrial life form." Yoshi's spirit continued to explain. "A being from the stars, another world, another planet." Yoshi's spirit would explain the scene that was unfolding in front of him with Mortu to Yoshi, Mashimi, as well as Tang Shen in the distance who saw everything as well.

"Mortu was impressed with our skills and offered Mashimi and myself with a choice as we have now seen his true nature, leave now and live with the mystery of what we had just scene, or consider service as a warrior called a Guardian and learn the whole story."

Aang saw Yoshi and Mashimi bow to Mortu as they accepted his offer. Aang wanted to learn more as well.

"So…" Aang tried

"It is a long story Avatar, and I will show you." Yoshi's spirit explained.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Flashback_

Fire Lord Sozin was performing the ceremony that was Roku's wedding with the same girl he had a crush on before; her name was Ta-Min. The ceremony was greeted with a great applause.

" _On wedding days, we look to the future with optimism and joy. I had my own vision for a brighter future."_

Roku and his wife we're now sitting at a table as the wedding had entered its banquet, enjoying each other's company as well as the food. Sozin approached the happy couple.

"Excuse me, may I borrow him for a moment?" Sozin asked Ta-Min.

She gave an amused smile. "It's not very traditional, but okay."

* * *

Roku and Sozin had walked away from a bit of the party and onto a balcony that had an incredible view of the cost.

"What's on your mind?" Roku asked.

"I've been thinking hard about the state of the world lately." Sozin replied.

Roku smiled as he put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sozin, its my wedding. Have a cookie, dance with someone, lighten up."

Sozin smiled back. "I know, I know, but just hear me out."

Roku maintained his smile as he nodded.

"Right from the start, I was destined to be Fire Lord." Sozin began. "And although we didn't always know it, you we're destined to be the Avatar. Its an amazing stroke of fate we know each other so well, isn't it? Together we could do… anything!"

Roku didn't quite like the sound of that. "Yeah, we could."

"The Fire Nation is enjoying an unprecedented time of peace and wealth, our people our happy, and we are so fortunate in so many ways." Sozin continued.

"Where are you going with this?" Roku asked, though he had a feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

"I've been thinking, we should share this prosperity with the rest of the world." Sozin revealed. "In our hands is the most successful empire in history, its time we expanded it!"

Roku did not like that, not one bit. "No! The Four Nations are meant to be just that, four!"

"Roku you haven't even stopped to consider the possibilities."

"There are _no_ possibilities! This is the last I want to hear about this." Roku then began to walk away. However, Sozin did not like what was just said to him.

* * *

 _Catacombs, present day_

"So… this must be where it all began." Karai assumed.

"Karai?" Zuko questioned.

"In my world, there have been many nations and empires that have tried to 'share their prosperity' with the rest of the world; but what they really mean is expanding their own borders." Karai explained. "Bringing other land and resources into their own empire, and often times it means taking away the land of those who are already living there, and forcing their will upon those considered 'lesser'."

Karai remembered such nations and empires from her world's history; the Roman Empire, the British Colonies, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and many others.

"And no matter what, when a country embarks on such a path, it always leads to the same result." Karai continued.

"Which is…?" Zuko asked.

Karai looked toward him with a serious expression. "War."

* * *

 _Yoshi's flashback_

During this time; Mortu had shown Yoshi and Mashimi the Utrom's home as well as revealed to them their history on earth, and their century's long conflict with the Foot. Aang had also learned this as well as Yoshi's spirit helped to explain it in a way they could understand.

"Okay, let me get this straight." Aang began. "These Utroms are aliens from another planet who crashed onto your Earth a thousand years ago, have been waiting to build themselves a way home, and have been in an thousand-year-long war against the Footclan, so the Utroms recruited humans as Guardians to protect them?"

"Yes, that is correct." Yoshi's spirit confirmed.

Aang took all this in. "A thousand-year-long secret-war. And I thought _my_ war was intense."

"War is war, Avatar." Yoshi's spirit explained. "Whether its secret or not, there is always battle and death, especially when faced with such an enemy, especially the Shredder."

"But why are the Foot fighting you guys?" Aang asked. "What does Shredder have against you and the Utroms?"

"That is a story for another time Aang." Yoshi's spirit replied. "Let us continue with this one."

The scene around them shifted to Ancient One's home at night. "Mashimi and I have just told the Ancient One of the Utroms and the Guardians and our intention to join them."

"And he let you?" Aang asked.

"No, he was dead-set against it." Yoshi's spirit replied.

Aang soon got his answer as he saw the scene unfold in front of him.

"Pttf. No!" The Ancient One addressed his kneeling students. "The Guardians are no place for you! You must not do this!" His eyes set upon one student in particular "Yoshi, a different destiny awaits you!" He turned to him and Mashimi. "Neither of you are ready, you need much more training!"

"Sensei, we are _more_ than ready!" Mashimi argued.

"In body perhaps. But it is your heart and mind that still need training my son!" The Ancient One stated as he poked Mashimi's head repeatedly.

"The Guardians are an honorable force for good sensei. I want to help them!" Yoshi insisted, while Tang Shen was listening to all of this behind the wall in the hallway outside.

"No! I forbid you to join the Guardians!" The Ancient One began to walk out. "That is my final word!"

Tang Shen hid herself so the Ancient One would not see her as he walked out, she looked back inside to the standing Yoshi and Mashimi.

"I don't get it, why wouldn't he let you join them?" Aang asked Yoshi's spirit.

"How would you feel if your son asked to become a part of something and it involved going to war and constantly risking your life?" Yoshi's spirit asked.

Aang realized what he meant. "Oh."

"But Yukio Mashimi and I we're not asking for permission. We we're no longer children." Yoshi's spirit told him.

"So you guys joined anyway?" Aang asked.

"Yes." Yoshi's spirit responded. "However, that choice would have a greater impact on all our lives than any of us could ever expect."

* * *

 _Fire Nation Flashback_

Several years had passed and an adult Roku flew on his red dragon, Fang, to an Earth Kingdom shore; however as he flew further down he looked in shock and surprise to see a large wall with a Fire Nation banner over it, covering an Earth Kingdom symbol.

Roku stormed into Sozin's throne room and he was not happy. "I have seen the colony Sozin! How dare you occupy Earth Kingdom territory!"

"How dare _you,_ A citizen of the Fire Nation, address your Fire Lord this way." Sozin told him, who did not like Roku's attitude. "Your loyalty is to our nation first, anything less makes you a traitor."

"Don't do this Sozin." Roku warned. "Don't challenge me, it will only end badly." Sozin glared at Roku for a moment. "It's over" Roku turned around and began to walk away.

Sozin angrily leapt off his throne and unleashed a massive stream of fire towards Roku. When it vanished, there was no one present, much to Sozin's surprise. He heard a faint rumbling and looked behind to see Roku, who used Earthbending to tunnel behind Sozin and send a blast of air forward that blew Sozin, back and he slammed hard against the door on the other side of the chamber. An earth-pillar rose up, carrying Sozin by the back of his robe straight up to the ceiling.

Roku placed his hands together. His eyes began to glow white as he entered the Avatar State. With a mighty display of Airbending he blew away the entire throne-room; leaving only Sozin still stuck on the pillar. Sozin covered his eyes and could only gasp at the destruction.

Roku ascended on a tornado straight up towards Sozin. "I am sparing you, Sozin. I am letting you go in the name of our past friendship. But I warn you, even a single step out of line will result in your permanent end."

Sozin glared for a few seconds but he relented, as he knew he could not defeat a fully realized Avatar in a direct fight. Roku then left the angry Sozin where he was.

* * *

 _Japan, Yoshi's flashback_

Within the Utrom's base; Aang and Yoshi's spirit could see the Utroms and many Guardians present. All we're gathered together as Yoshi was being presented a medal with the yin-yang symbol on it by Mortu.

"What's going on?" Aang questioned.

"As you know, Mashimi and I had begun training with the Utroms and Guardians, I kept advancing, being promoted time-and-time again, all the way to the top rank of Guardian-Prime." Yoshi's spirit explained.

Aang however noticed the jealous look on Mashimi's face. Yoshi's spirit noticed this as well. "While Mashimi was passed over, time and time again." Yoshi's spirit explained to Aang.

They all saw Mashimi turn around and leave the chamber. Yoshi looked at this with concern.

"Mashimi had become jealous, and had kept all his feelings bottled up inside him." Yoshi's spirit explained to Aang. "And the more one keeps such negative emotions inside, the greater they become and the more they would spread, like a poison."

"I don't think I like where this is going." Aang stated, looking a bit nervous.

* * *

While it was clear the bond between Yoshi and Mashimi began to weaken, the bond between Yoshi and Tang Shen only grew stronger. The two shared a kiss under the moonlight in the Ancient One's garden. They looked lovingly at each other for a moment before Yoshi had to leave to Guardian duty back with the Utroms.

The smiling Tang Shen failed to notice Mashimi spying on her under a tree, its shadow all over him. The coils of jealousy tightened more and more in Mashimi's soul until finally, something snapped.

Rain began to fall down onto the garden. Tang Shen didn't mind it at all, she let the water flow down her hair.

"Tang Shen!"

She gave a light gasp as she turned around to see Mashimi under the tree's shadow. She gave a sigh of relief.

"Mashimi, you startled me." However, Tang Shen noticed the dark look in his eyes and it began to scare her. "Wha… what is wrong with you?"

Her scream was heard inside the house, freighting the pet rat in his house, and getting the Ancient One's attention as he looked in shock. He ran outside as fast as he could.

"Tang Shen?" He got outside and tried to call to her. "Tang Shen!" He looked over to the side and saw something that made him dread in horror. "Oh no. Tang Shen."

* * *

Roku and Sozin didn't speak or see each other for twenty-five years after their first battle; he spent his spare time on his home island with his wife Ta-Min. As the two elderly couple slept in their home during the night, a large explosion woke them both up. Roku noticed a series of fireballs falling from the sky in his window; both he and Ta-Min ran outside and they we're greeted by an ash cloud. Roku looked up in terror at seeing the smoke rise from the largest volcano on the island, it was erupting.

"Lets go!" Roku took Ta-Min's hand and began to lead away. He sent an airburst forward to dispel the ash-cloud and ran with his wife.

By now the entire village was awake and all ran as fast as they could as a landslide began to come down from the volcano, even Roku's dragon Fang fled from the natural disaster. The lava was now beginning to pour out as well, Roku and Ta-Min led all the villagers away, he looked towards his wife and she back at him before letting her go on. Once the villagers we're clear, Roku turned around ready to face the volcano.

He created a massive air-done to dispel all the incoming ash and smoke and let the villagers escape on their boats. Ta-Min could only look towards the island with worry.

* * *

An elderly Sozin saw this from the Fire Nation capital as well.

" _Roku's island was a hundred miles away. But I could still feel it rumbling, and see the black plume of smoke. I had never seen anything like this catastrophe."_

* * *

 _Japan, Utrom Headquarters, Yoshi's flashback_

Aang was once more in the Utrom's base with the spirit of Yoshi during this night. As he saw all the Utroms working and the Guardians continuing their training Aang looked around and saw someone was missing.

"Where's Mashimi?" Aang looked and saw the look on the face of Yoshi's spirit. "Yoshi… what's going on?"

"This night, Avatar, is where the Guardians and Utroms would suffer our greatest defeat."

Aang noticed several shadows on the ground. Yoshi, Mortu, and everyone else looked up towards the glass ceiling to see multiple Foot Ninja on the roof. Multiple explosions erupted all along the walls and ceilings as multiple Foot Ninja poured in. A few Utroms panicked and ran into a plume of smoke, which dispelled to reveal the four Elite Ninja.

The Guardians all drew sthere weapons and tried to defend against the Foot, but the enemy clearly had the advantage in numbers as well as the element of surprise.

Aang could only look in shock and surprise at all of this, before he could ask what was going on however, stepping out of the smoke left behind by the Elite, facing both Yoshi and Mortu was the one person that would strike fear into Aang more than even the Fire Lord. The Shredder.

"Secure all the exits! Let none escape!" Shredder ordered his forces.

"Shredder?!" Aang exclaimed. "But how?!" He turned to Yoshi's spirit. "How did Shredder and the Foot find you guys!?"

"They had help." Yoshi's spirit answered as he pointed towards Shredder.

Aang looked and saw someone step from behind Shredder; he gave a wide-eyed gasp of shock at the sight of Mashimi, wearing the garb of the Foot Ninja.

"Mashimi! You have betrayed us!?" Mortu angrily questioned.

"What?!" Aang questioned at the sight of this. "Mashimi led Shredder to you?!" Yoshi's spirit could only look down in shame.

Yoshi could not believe his eyes. "Mashimi? Why?"

"How dare you ask why! You betrayed _me_!" Mashimi angrily yelled. "We we're like brothers! But you took everything, and left me with nothing! Nothing!" He drew his katana. "Now I take everything from _you_! Including your life!"

As he knew they couldn't win this fight, Mortu ordered a retreat. He opened a comn that relayed to everyone. "Fellow Utroms! Guardians! Initiate Evacuation Protocol Nine-Omega!"

The Guardians all ran from their fight and into a series of elevators while the Utroms flew on their hover pads to a series of tubes opening on the ceiling. A series of escape-pods launched from the rooftop of the building; carrying all the Utroms and Guardians with them.

Inside, the only ones left we're Yoshi and Mortu. Yoshi saw Mashimi run towards him with a katana-in hand. Yoshi merely looked in that direction for a moment.

"Guardian Hamato Yoshi! We are leaving!" Mortu ordered as he ran towards an elevator. Yoshi ran with him and joined him just as the doors we're closing.

Mashimi ran towards him, not wanting to let him get away; but before he could reach Yoshi, the door closed. He slammed his katana against the closed door in frustration; they had escaped.

"They have eluded us." Shredder stated as he angrily approached Mashimi. "You did not tell me of those escape pods!"

Mashimi was now frightened. "I… I was not aware of them! I swear on my life!" He exclaimed in fear as Shredder stood less than an inch away from him.

"Yes, on your life."

* * *

The scene shifted once more to the Ancient One's home; Aang could not believe what had just happened.

"I don't understand!" Aang stated as he stood with Yoshi's spirit. "You two we're like brothers, but he sold you out to Shredder?! How… how could he do that?!"

"That, is only a part of it, Avatar." Yoshi's spirit told him as he looked down.

"What do you mean?" Aang asked as he looked and saw the younger Yoshi enter the gardens of the Ancient One's home.

"I had returned home to tell Tang Shen and the Ancient One of what had happened, only to discover the full extent of Mashimi's betrayal." Yoshi's spirit said as he looked down in grief.

Aang saw Yoshi approach the Ancient One on the ground, along with a blanket covering something, or rather, some _one._ Yoshi gave a slight gasp, as he reached for the blanket, the Ancient One tried to stop him, but couldn't. Yoshi had lifted it to reveal Tang Shen's face, now lifeless.

Aang's eyes widened in horror. "No… he didn't…"

Yoshi fell on his knees as tears welled up in his eyes. "No." He held Tang-Shen's lifeless body as tears ran down. "Tang Shen. No. NOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

 _Reality_

It was night on the black island as the Turtles and Team Avatar saw Aang, still in his meditative stance and tattoo's glowing, but his face indicated that he had seen something terrible.

"What do you think he's seeing?" Sokka asked.

"Whatever it is, its intense." Don guessed.

Leo and Katara both saw a single tear fall down from Aang's left eye. "Aang." Katara held her heart; Leo put a hand on her shoulder.

* * *

The Ancient One and Yoshi had made a grave for Tang Shen underneath a peach tree, and had finished burying her. They, as well as her pet rat in his little home, all kneeled there to morn.

"I can't believe it." Aang breathed as he stood behind them with Yoshi's spirit. "He killed her."

"Jealousy is often the foundation for anger and hate, and hate makes one do terrible things." Yoshi's spirit explained, though he still had a look of grief on his face.

"I'm so sorry Yoshi." Aang apologized; Yoshi's spirit gave a slight smile as he put a hand on the young Avatar's shoulder. Aang made a bow as he placed his left fist into his right palm to pay his respects to Tang Shen as well.

"This is my fault." The Ancient One began. "I knew Mashimi had a dark streak in his heart."

"It is not your fault, master." Yoshi began as he took up a katana. "It is Mashimi's fault, and he shall pay with his life!"

Aang could only look in surprise at seeing this. "What are you…?"

"I was young, and angry, and as I said, anger can lead us to do things that we may regret." Yoshi's spirit explained.

The Ancient One knew he couldn't stop him. He picked up the pet rat's home. "Be careful my son, vengeance is like a splinter. It gets under your skin and can poison your life."

"You're going to try and find Mashimi?" Aang questioned. "Are you, going to kill him?"

"Yes." Yoshi's spirit answered.

* * *

 _Roku's Island, flashback_

The volcano continued to erupt, like a wrathful force of nature. Roku created a massive earth-wall and raised it high enough so that the incoming rock-slide would not topple the escaping villagers. Roku looked up to see the massive amounts of lava erupting from the mouth of the volcano.

The lava began to spread all over the island and cover it like a blanket; it came down and made short work of Roku's wall. He jumped back quite some distance down the slope and shot his fist to the right and created a deep rock trench that spread to the other side of the island, Roku mimicked the action on the left to create a trench along that side as well. The lava entered the deep trench and began to flow away and into the water away from the fleeing villagers.

Roku however was becoming fatigue, he was old, even with the elements under his command, he couldn't do it all by himself. He was no longer in his prime.

Another large explosion of lava erupted at the mouth of the volcano. Roku used Airbending to accelerate his speed and surge forward right to the top where he could get a good view of the lava inside. He jumped up high and sent a massive air-blast from his mouth to instantly cool and harden the flowing lava, letting him stand right at the crown. But the more he got closer, the more the poisonous gasses of the volcano began to overwhelm him.

Fang flew close to Roku but roared in a panic as a plume of lava almost hit him.

"It's alright Fang!" Roku called to his dragon while he coughed. "Get out of here! I'm fine!"

Roku entered the Avatar State as his eyes began to glow. With a might fist, he sent a surge of Earthbending forward through the mouth of the volcano, creating a massive hole on the other side and allowing all the lava to pour out. But Roku's victory didn't even last two seconds as the smaller volcano next to it erupted as well. Roku saw this and hung his head for this was a loosing battle.

"Need a hand old friend?"

Roku turned around to see the elderly Fire Lord Sozin ridding in on his blue dragon.

"Sozin?"

"There's not a moment to waste!" Sozin stated.

Roku was at the mouth of the second volcano, he used all his power to push the lava down to keep it from overflowing as the first volcano had already done. As he did this, Sozin was on the other side and used an advanced Firebending technique to draw out all the heat from the lava and shoot it out into the sky, causing the lava to harden into stone.

The villagers had all made it away to a safe-distance by boat; but Ta-Min still looked with worry toward the island.

The rock underneath Sozin began to crumble and he began to loose his footing. Roku noticed this and before he could fall, he quickly erected a large earth-platform under Sozin's feet to keep him from falling. The tremor hit, and they both knew it was time to leave.

Roku and Sozin both made a break for it. "Don't breath the toxic gas!" Roku exclaimed as he used Airbending to blow away the spewing sulfur coming from the ground near them.

As they continued to run however, a plume of sulfur sprayed right into Roku's face. His vision became blurry and he could barley move. "Its… too much…!"

Roku fell to his knees, and could barley support himself with his hands. He extended his hand to Sozin. "Please…."

Sozin could only look at Roku. "Without you, all my plans are suddenly possible." Roku's eyes widened. "I have a vision for the future Roku." Sozin's dragon flew up next to him and he quickly mounted it. Sozin was abandoning him. Roku could only scowl as he saw Sozin flying away and leave him for dead.

A massive avalanche of ash was coming down towards Roku; he could not escape it. Fang quickly flew in and surrounded Roku. The red dragon would not abandon him, even in death.

* * *

 _Japan, Yoshi's flashback_

Yoshi had managed to locate the Foot fortress within the mountains. He landed in front of the two guards and ran forward. Only two seconds had passed before one Foot Ninja was flown into the door, forcing it open and Yoshi walked in, carrying the other unconscious Ninja.

"I have come for Yukio Mashimi!" Yoshi exclaimed to the dozen Foot Ninja who blocked his path and quickly surrounded him.

"You broke into the Foot's stronghold all by yourself!?" Aang questioned Yoshi's spirit.

"I had but one thought pounding throughout my entire body, and nothing would stop me."

The Ninja had all ran towards him. Yoshi kicked one hard in the chest, and another one coming in from behind. He grabbed and threw away a third ninja; two tried to attack from behind but he raised both his fists at them without even turning around and knocked them down.

Several more tried to pile onto him, but Yoshi grabbed a ninja in each hand by their robes and began to twirl them, using them like weapons to bash and bat away all the ninja coming at him. He tossed one hard that he flew into a drape with the Foot's tapestry on the right wall, causing it to fall and topple onto that ninja and another one under it. Yoshi twirled his other 'weapon' around before tossing him into another tapestry, causing it to fall onto another ninja as well.

Yoshi landed a flying kick on one ninja that sent him flying into another and followed with a roundhouse to take down the last ninja

"Whoa." Aang observed in awe. "When you said nothing would stop you, you weren't kidding."

"That was nothing compared to what I would have to face next." Yoshi's spirit said as the younger Yoshi ran further into the fortress.

Yoshi ran into a massive chamber of the stronghold where he could see an entire army of Foot Ninja, and even Shredder in his throne at the very end of the chamber on a large rise with a Foot banner underneath.

Aang gapped at all that. "Uh… I know you're a master of Ninjitsu, but I don't think you can take down an entire army _and_ Shredder all by yourself."

"I wouldn't have to. They we're not my target." Yoshi's spirit replied.

"Yukio Mashimi! I have come for you!" Hamato Yoshi called. "Show yourself traitor!"

Shredder glared for a few moments at Yoshi before calling his servant. "Mashimi!"

The aforementioned traitor stepped forward on the first rise of the throne above the first flight of stairs.

"Mashimi! I challenge you to a duel! Assassin!" Yoshi challenged.

"A duel? Ha!" Mashimi scoffed as Yoshi ran up the first flight of steps to face Mashimi. "You have ignorantly stepped into the dragon's den Yoshi!" He stated, referring to the army of Foot Ninja. "I have no need to fight you alone, we outnumber _you_!"

"You are mistaken, Yukio Mashimi." Shredder told him as he turned around. "You stand alone. Defeat Hamato Yoshi, and I will forgive our humiliating retreat from the Utrom Base. Only if you defeat Yoshi, will I let you live."

Aang's eyes widened at that statement. "He'd kill one of his own?!"

"The Shredder is intolerant when it comes to failure." Yoshi's spirit replied.

Mashimi bowed to Shredder. "As you wish, master."

Mashimi and Yoshi faced each other as they came close and made combat stances. "So Yoshi, our story has come full-circle. It began with just the two of us, and here it ends, with just the two of us."

"This story will only end with _one_ of us Mashimi!" Yoshi replied before kicking Mashimi away.

Mashimi quickly got up on his feet and unsheathed his katana. He looked on with a scowl before jumping with a yell. Yoshi took out his katana as well and jumped up to meet Mashimi. The two met and slashed with their swords as they passed each other and landed on the ground on opposite ends.

After a tense second, Yoshi fell on his knees as a cut formed on his chest. Mashimi wasn't so lucky.

"Yoshi… forgive me…" those we're Yukio Mashimi's last words as he fell down and dropped his katana, letting it fall down the stairs. Aang's eyes widened while Yoshi's spirit looked down in shame and regret.

"Seize the Guardian!" Shredder ordered his army. "We will make him lead us to the Utrom's new home!"

"You have to get out of here! You can't beat them all!" Aang exclaimed.

"This is only the past, Avatar." Yoshi's spirit reminded. "But you are right, I could not allow myself to be captured. It was time to leave."

Yoshi had only one way out, he ran up the stair directly towards Shredder. He gave a leaping kick, Shredder ducked out of the way as Yoshi smashed through the Foot banner and window and dove into the water below, escaping the Shedder, for now.

* * *

Yoshi had returned to the Ancient One's home one last time to say goodbye. Aang knew this was the case.

"You're going to leave, aren't you?" Aang asked Yoshi's spirit.

"Indeed. I was a Guardian, and I had my duty to the Utroms."

Yoshi's younger self faced his adoptive father with the home carrying the pet rat in his hand. "I must go sensei."

"I know." The Ancient One admitted. "Despite the plans of a foolish old man, one must follow one's own destiny, no matter where it leads." They both bowed to each other. "Goodbye, my son."

"Goodbye, father."

* * *

The scene shifted yet again. Aang looked around in the new city he was in, as he Yoshi's spirit, and the younger Yoshi faced the building labeled 'TCRI'.

"Where are we now?" Aang asked.

"This is New York." Yoshi's spirit answered. "The building that is known as TCRI is the new base of the Utroms, where I would continue my service as Guardian Prime."

The younger Yoshi looked to his pet rat. "Well little one, I will name you Splinter." Aang's eyes widened, as Yoshi's spirit nodded to him in conformation. "To remind me of what I have done, and what I have failed to do. And together, we will remind each other of Tang Shen, of her beauty, her kindness, and love."

Yoshi, the rat named Splinter, and even Aang looked down in sorrow before Yoshi walked toward the TCRI building and was greeted by Mortu before closing the door.

With that, everything faded to white as Aang faced Yoshi's spirit.

"So that rat...?"

"Would be the one to mutate into the being you know as 'Master Splinter'." Yoshi's spirit confirmed.

"But, Shredder would still find you, wouldn't he?" Aang asked.

"Indeed he would, he wanted information about the Utroms. I refused to give it to him, and it cost me my life." Yoshi's spirit said.

"I'm sorry." Aang hung his head in sorrow.

"Don't be." Yoshi's spirit encouraged with a smile. "For it is not long after that, that Splinter as well as four certain infant reptiles would mutate into the friends that you know today, and it is from a special chemical made by the Utroms."

Aang looked up in surprise. "The Utroms created the Turtles!?"

"Indirectly and accidentally, but yes." Yoshi's spirit began. "You will soon find that myself, the Turtles, Splinter, Tang Shen, Mashimi, the Ancient One, the Guardians and the Utroms, even the Shredder and his Foot, are all connected; and now, those connections have reached you and your world as well."

"But… I still have a lot more questions…" Aang tried.

"And they will be answered in time young Avatar, but you must return to your friends, because they will need you as much as you need them. And now this; just as I have learned that a hated enemy can come from the most unlikely of places, the reverse is also possible; where you may find a friend in a place you would never hope to expect."

"What does that mean?"

"You'll learn soon enough." Yoshi's spirit bowed. "Until we meet again, Avatar Aang. I wish you luck."

* * *

 _Catacombs_

" _With Roku gone, and the Great Comet returning, the timing was perfect to change the world. I knew the next Avatar would be born an Air-Nomad, so I whipped out the Air-Temples, but somehow the new Avatar eluded me. I wasted the remainder of my life searching in vain. I know he's hiding out there somewhere. The Fire Nation's greatest threat, the last Airbender."_

That was it, that was the end of the testament. Zuko was not pleased. "That can't be it, where's the rest of it?!"

Karai stood up for a moment and let it all sink in. She leaned her hand against a wall as she processed all she had just learned. She knew how the war began but still had more questions.

"Why wait?" Karai asked, getting Zuko's attention. "Why wait for that comet, what was so special about it?"

"Sozin's Comet" Zuko began, standing up and looking towards Karai. "It only comes once every century and it has the power to enhance a Firebender's strength to levels immeasurable. They become near unstoppable, only for a short time until the comet passes."

"I think I now know why the Avatar is so important." Karai began, not facing Zuko. "The reason for his power and immortality. He has to protect the world, to keep things such as this from ever happening. Sozin knew this, so he abandoned him and left him for dead." Her hand on the wall balled into a fist. "That coward!"

Zuko didn't know how to properly respond to this, as he was more confused. Why come down here? "Karai, I get this is all new to you, but most people in the Fire Nation high-class already know the story. Even I knew it."

"What did that mean?" Karai asked.

"What?"

"Sozin stated the next Avatar was the _last_ Airbender. What happened to the rest?" She asked, turning to Zuko.

"He killed them."

Karai was speechless as her eyes widened and she shook in her place.

Zuko began to explain. "Like I said, Sozin's Comet enhances a Firebender's power. So he launched an invasion on all the Air Temples and had every single Airbender killed."

"But surely… some could have escaped… not all could…"

"Sozin had them all hunted down. It took a while, but any surviving Air Nomad was found and killed. No one survived, except for the Avatar." Zuko said.

Karai fell to her knees and almost fell on the ground, her left hand supporting her as her right hand covered her mouth in horror. The thought of every man, woman, and child in an entire nation being massacred made her sick. Even a few tears fell from her eyes. There was no honor, there was no moral code, there was no value in any of this.

Zuko looked with sympathy at seeing Karai like this. He walked towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. I think we both know who sent us these notes, maybe its time we pay him a visit."

* * *

 _Fire Nation Royal Prison_

It was morning as Karai and Zuko both entered the cell of the fallen Dragon of the West, Iroh.

"You sent this, didn't you?" Zuko angrily questioned his uncle. "I found the 'secret history', which by the way, should be renamed the history most people already know!"

"Not everyone." Iroh replied, looking towards Karai. "You now understand how this century long mess started, don't you Karai?"

Karai was still shaken up by what she just learned; all she could do was nod. Iroh chose to respect her silence.

Zuko continued. "Your note said I needed to know about my great-grandfather's death, but he was still alive in the end!"

"No, he wasn't."

That caught Karai's attention. "What are you talking about?" Zuko questioned.

"You have more than one great-grandfather, Prince Zuko." Iroh explained. "Sozin was your _father's_ grandfather; you're mother's grandfather, was Avatar Roku."

Karai's eyes widened in complete shock, but for Zuko, it was as if a bomb had just been dropped.

"Why are you telling me this?! Why are you telling both of us?!" Zuko yelled, referring to Karai as well.

"Because understanding the struggle between your great-grandfathers can help you understand the battle within yourself, while a similar battle I can tell is taking place in you as well, Karai." Iroh explained.

Zuko fell to his knees and held his head, while Karai just hung her head down.

"Evil and Good are always at war inside you Zuko, it is your nature, your legacy." Iroh continued. "While for you Karai, you are torn between loyalty towards your own father, or the strong sense of honor that lies within your own heart. You two are more alike than you know. However, I believe that it was meant to be that you found each other, a bright side to it."

Both Zuko and Karai listened as Iroh continued.

"What happened generations ago can be resolved now, by you. Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family, and the Fire Nation; both of you. Born in both of you, along with the strife and ferocity, is the power to restore balance to both our worlds."

Iroh walked to the back of his cell, pulled out a brick and took something out of it that was wrapped in a cloth before putting the brick back.

"This is a royal artifact." Iroh revealed it to be the same headpiece Sozin used to wore and gave it to Roku. "It is supposed to be worn by the crown prince."

Zuko took it.

* * *

 _Roku's Island_

Aang had returned to his body from the Spirit World and had told everything to the Turtles and the rest of Team Avatar. The Turtles already knew about the Utroms and how the ooze mutated them, as well as the Guardians; but this was the first they heard of Yoshi's past.

"Oh man, what a bummer story." Mikey dejectedly said.

"You mean, even after everything Yoshi and Mashimi had been through together, Mashimi betrayed Yoshi and the Utroms to Shredder? And killed Tang Shen?!" Katara questioned in mild horror.

"And he did all that just because he didn't get his way?!" Don questioned as well.

"What the hell is wrong with these people?! Are all these foot–guys just born bad?!" Toph questioned.

"Man I though the Fire Nation itself was bad, but the Foot…?!" Sokka stuttered. "They _are_ worse than the Fire Nation!"

Raph growled as he clenched his fists in anger. "Those lousy… When I get my hands on Shredder I'm gonna turn his armor into a damn urinal!"

"Guys." Aang began. "Look, I agree Shredder is evil, and I also hate what Mashimi did, but I don't think Yoshi showed me this just to make us angry."

"So why _did_ he show you all that stuff?" Mikey asked.

"Yoshi and Mashimi both came from the same place, right?" Aang reminded. "I think it proves that anyone can be capable of great good and great evil."

"You may have a point Aang." Leo began to agree. "Master Splinter taught us that we are free to decide our own paths, that our lives are determined by our choices. It doesn't matter where you come from, or how you start, it's the path that we decide to take and the choices we make that help determine our destiny."

"What are you guys saying exactly?" Katara asked.

"Yoshi told me that while someone who was once a friend can become an enemy, a friend can also be found somewhere you'd never expect." Aang replied.

"So, you're saying, maybe people in the Fire Nation could turn around?" Don guessed.

"It seems possible." Leo said. "Remember how we first came to this place? It wasn't at all what we expected. We've seen some good people in this country, despite what the military is doing. And even then, those are soldiers who could be just following orders. This world seems to think that the Fire Nation as a whole is evil, but I don't think that's the case. The problem is not the country itself, but the people who are in charge, specifically Ozai and his followers."

"And now its only gonna get even worse with Shredder up there as well." Toph pitched in.

"Maybe, but that's beside the point." Leo continued. "Its important that we end this war, but what's equally important is that we end it the right way."

"The right way?" Sokka questioned.

"If we tear the Fire Nation down, if we knock them down and walk all over them just like Ozai did to the rest of the world; we'd be no different from him or Shredder, and in the long run nothing would have changed." Leo said.

"Leo's right." Aang agreed. "We need to show the people in this country that there's another way. And who knows, maybe we'll find friends in the Fire Nation that we didn't even think we're possible."

Raph scoffed slightly. "What? You think Shredder's gonna turn good?"

"No, that's not gonna happen." Leo replied right away. "Shredder and Ozai both need to go down; but we help everyone else, and who knows what good can come from that."

"That sounds about right." Aang and Leo both put their hands in the middle of the group. "Who else is with us?"

Mikey, Katara, and Don we're the first ones to join them; Sokka shrugged and did the same, Toph followed next as well. Raph sighed before he did as well.

* * *

 _Foot Headquarters, Fire Nation capital_

Oroku Saki sat within his personal quarters as Hun approached him.

"Master." Hun began with a bow. "We received a message from Stockman in Ba-Sing-Se; the satellite network is almost active and we should have the numbers on Sozin's Comet soon."

"Good." Oroku Saki replied "Tell Stockman to give the data to me as soon as he has it."

Karai soon walked in as well before she bowed to her father. "You summoned me, father?"

"Karai, I have noticed that you have been spending quite a lot of time with Zuko, why is that?" Oroku Saki asked.

Hun gave a smirk. "Sounds like someone's got a little friend."

Karai glared at Hun before turning to her father. "I have been learning more of this nation's history. Mere curiosity, I assure you."

"I see." Oroku Saki contemplated.

A Foot Ninja walked into the chambers with a box and a cloth draped over it. The Ninja bowed down to him.

"Master Shredder, it is complete." He presented the box to him.

Oroku Saki smiled as he walked forward, Hun and Karai approached as well. Oroku Saki threw away the cloth, revealing a very familiar sword. Hun smiled evilly, while Karai could only look in surprise.

"Father… is that….?" Karai questioned as Oroku Saki put on a metal glove and picked it up.

"Indeed it is. The Sword of Tengu! Oroku Saki hung the rebuilt sword as it surge with blue energy. The power surged through the metal glove and Oroku Saki could feel it.

"Yes! The power! I can feel it!" Oroku Saki began boast with a wide and evil smile. "The Sword of Tengu! The sword with which I laid villages to waste! Brought castles to ground! Vanquished armies! The sword that I used to conquer Japan and give power to the Tokugawa clan! It has been reborn!"

Oroku Saki held the sword up as power lit up the entire chamber.

Karai in the meantime could only look more conflicted as she slowly began to realize just what path she was on.

 **Done.**

 ***Sigh* that was a long one.**

 **I hope you like this chapter.**

 **Karai and Zuko have both learned of the Fire Nation's history; while Aang has begun to know more of Hamato Yoshi and the Utroms (Team Avatar will learn more later on, right now they do not know Shredder is an Utrom yet, but they will learn soon enough).**

 **Shredder has the Sword of Tengu again. Things are about to get interesting. Thank you once again for your patience. I'll see you next time on Worlds Collide. The next one is gonna be fun.**


	20. The Runaway

**Hello everyone. I apologize for the wait, as I have said before I do have other stories and outside work that will sometimes take priority. But don't worry; I have every intention of continuing this story. This is one particular chapter I've wanted to do for a while and now it's here. I'm sure you're looking forward to it as well. So, lets get started.**

 **The Runaway**

Leo stood on a rocky field with his katanas at the draw; rotating to his left was Katara in front of a river, which she used to bend water around her arms. On her left was Don who spun his bo-staff around him before taking a combat stance. Next to him was Mikey who took out his nunchucks and spun them at the ready. Right across from Katara was Toph who took an Earthbending stance. Further on her left was Raph who crossed his arms and pointed his sais outward. All six of them glared at the center of the circle they had formed around one individual.

"Okay." Aang said somewhat enthusiastically as he put a blindfold on. "I'm ready for some training."

"Don't get cocky kid." Raph cracked with a smirk

Aang took a few steps, and as he did, he began to listen to the earth via the seismic-sense Toph had been teaching him.

Toph shot multiple earth-pillars out like pistons, which Aang was able to avoid quickly. As he swerved around one, he limboed under a horizontal slice from Leo. Leo stumbled before charging forward, but Aang inhaled and sent an air-gust forward to blow Leo back.

Raph thought he had the drop on them as he jumped from pillar-to-pillar and leaped at him sais-forward, but Aang created an earth-wall with the swipe of his leg, but Raph jumped over and landed in front of Aang.

"You got good defense Light-weight." Raph complemented as he thrusted his sais forward and Aang jumped over with Airbending. "But where's your _offense?"_

Aang responded as he sent a vertical airwave right to Raph and sent him into the river. He got up and spat some water out.

"Not bad."

Katara whipped two water-streams right at Aang just as Don landed on the other side of him and thrusted his staff forward, Aang arced the water above him and right at Don while sending another air-wave at Katara. Mikey landed in front of Aang and flashed his nunchucks before swinging.

Aang listened to the sound of the nunchucks spinning as Mikey swung them, and right at the moment he was able to catch them both in his hands, before Aang kicked up a bolder and shot it at Mikey who screamed as he jumped over it and it flew straight at Toph, which she caught.

"Good job Twinkle Toes." Toph congratulated. "Visualize, then attack!" She sent the rock right back at Aang, who responed by sinking himself in the ground and the rock went straight to Katara.

It never made contact however as Leo quickly jumped in front and sliced it with his swords, causing several pieces to fly past Katara. She sighed in relief.

"Thanks Leo." She then scowled at Toph. "Maybe you should take your own advice Toph!"

Aang moved himself back up as Leo sighed, knowing where this might go.

"What's the matter? Can't handle some dirt, Madam Fussy-Britches?" Toph teased.

"Oh boy." Don sighed as he got up while Leo face-palmed and Katara's eye twitched. She brought up a large wave over from the river behind her and arched it over herself, Leo, Aang, and the recovering Don and Mikey, and splashed it all over Toph.

"Oh sorry, did I splash you mud slug?!" Katara called out.

"Uh oh." Mikey slightly dreaded.

"Here we go." Leo relented.

Toph clenched her fists as she created an earth-wave, while Katara mirrored the action with an ice-ramp and they both slammed into each other.

Aang didn't notice anything happening. "Are we taking a break?" He asked with his blind-fold still on.

"You could say that." Raph said as he walked up with his brothers, having a smirk and crossed arms.

It seemed like no one really notice Sokka peeking up from a small ridge with a semi-evil grin. He then hollered as he ran forward. "Sneak attack!"

All the Turtles lowered their eye-lids while Aang, not even turning around, thrusted his hand upward, causing a large rock-formation to come out and Sokka ran into it face-fist.

Raph and Mikey both chuckled at that. "Now that was awesome." Raph stated.

"Which part?" Mikey asked in a chuckle. "The blindfold upper-cut? Or Sokka getting hurt?"

"Both." Raph replied.

Aang sunk the rock back down as Don walked up to Sokka who was flat on his back with swirls in his eyes. Don lightly chuckled.

"Sokka, the point of a _sneak_ attack is to be quiet. Not yell before you even get close to your target." He offered Sokka a hand, which he took once he shook the cob-webs from his head.

"Noted." Sokka replied.

The group saw some mud splashed as Aang took off his blind-fold and they all looked to see Katara and Toph wresting each other in mud.

"Uh… should we do something about them?" Mikey asked Raph.

Raph chuckled in response. "No."

"Hungry for a mud-pie?!" Toph challenged as she kicked mud right into Katara's face, causing her to back up. She whipped the mud from her face with a scowl.

"I'll give _you_ a mud-pie!" Katara threw a ball of mud right at Toph, causing her to fall over. Toph shot back up and used a mud-pillar to send Katara falling back to some rocks.

Leo sighed as he walked right into the mud and straight for the two girls as the charged, before they made contact, Leo grabbed Toph and Katara by the backs of their shirts and pulled them up.

"Okay, that's enough!" Leo lightly scolded. "We're supposed to be training Aang, kids. The key word being 'training', not 'killing each other'. So cool it."

Leo dropped them both as Toph landed on her feet, but Katara slid and landed on her bum. She got up and started to act more lady-like.

"You are Leo, and I believe that may be enough training today." She then walked away.

"While Katara cleans up, lets go have some fun!" Toph stated as she bent all the mud off her body.

"Yeah!" Aang, Sokka, and Mikey all cheered.

"You bros coming?" Raph asked Don and Leo.

"Nah, I got some designs to work." Don replied.

"Yeah, you guys go ahead. And remember, you guys gotta have disguises." Leo pointed out.

"We got it the first thousand times Leo. Geeze." Raph rolled his eyes before the four began to head out.

Don meanwhile walked to where Appa was resting and went to his back to work on the blue-prints he had been making, while Leo walked towards a stream of water where Katara was cleaning herself off.

"That could have gone better." Leo said.

"Hey, she started it!" Katara defended.

"You we're the one who splashed water on her, just because she teased you." Leo replied.

"Well what was I supposed to do?!" Katara questioned.

"Uh… maybe ignore her!" Leo stated. "She keeps making fun of you, because you react to it. That's what makes it so easy. If you ignore her, if you don't react, she'll stop."

"Easy for you to say." Katara grunted as she cleaned out her hair.

"Really?" Leo asked with a cocked eyebrow. "You do realize I'm brothers with Raph, right?"

Katara sighed. "Yeah." She seemed to calm down. "Sorry."

"Forget it." Leo told her. "Just, try not to react so much, trust me, I speak from experience."

* * *

Meanwhile; Aang, Toph, Raph, Sokka, and Mikey all walked through a Fire Nation industrial town in their disguises, the two Turtles still wearing their hooded-robes to avoid getting anyone's attention.

Mikey noticed a few red birds flying above him and towards a small tower. "Hey, red eagles!"

"Those are hawks, I think." Raph replied. "This world's got some weird animals."

"They're messenger hawks." Sokka told them. "And I've been thinking about getting one for myself. That way, I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. I could just send them messages."

"I gotta say, I like the idea of not talking to you." Toph joked while Raph chuckled and the two fist-bumped.

"Ooooh, burn." Mikey rubbed in, earning a scowl from Sokka.

Aang pulled out a small coin. "So guys, what are we gonna get with our last silver piece?"

"Wait, we only have one left?!" Mikey questioned. "How the shell did that happen?!"

"Don't worry Mikey, we can get more money." Toph pointed out; causing most of the group to look in confusion. "Right there."

As she pointed downward, Raph looked at the scene. "Ah gambling. This should be good."

The group made their way to the scene where they saw a number of people gathered around a small table with a dealer who had three shells on the table. A man put some money on the table, while the dealer pulled up all three shelves and revealed a small pebble in the middle; he put the shells back down, with the pebble under the middle one and began to shuffle.

"This is where you seeing people are at a disadvantage." Toph explained to her friends. "Everyone guesses wrong moves the rock at the last minute." Raph saw her point as he caught sight of the dealer discreetly flipping the rock into one of his sleeves. "But I can feel it with my Earthbending."

"I also saw it, to." Raph pointed out.

"You saw it? How?" Aang asked. "I didn't."

"Cause you're not a ninja." Raph answered. "When you train to work in the shadows, you tend to notice even the littlest of things."

"Plus we've seen a few gambling games back in New York to." Mikey added.

The dealer stopped moving the shells and motioned for his customer to pick one. The man picked the center shell, but when the dealer lifted it, there was no pebble. The man gasped and began to cry as he likley lost a great deal of money.

The people began to disperse. "Quick, everyone. Act natural!" Mikey whispered to the group while it appeared most of them, save for Toph, we're looking away when the dealer saw the group. He saw Toph was blind and smirked.

"You there, wanna play a friendly game?"

"How can I possibly play?" Toph asked. "I'm blind." She waved her hand in front of her face to show it. Raph smirked at Toph's act.

"You don't have to see to be lucky."

Toph got down on her knees and maintained the act as she felt along the table for the shells. She pulled a silver-piece (which she swiped from Aang earlier) from her pocket and put it on the table.

The dealer lifted the shells to reveal the pebble. "The one in the middle." Mikey told Toph, going along with her act. The dealer put the shells back down and began to move them.

As he moved them, Raph noticed the dealer slipping two additional pebbles into the empty shells in order to give Toph some confidence, which he could play off later. Raph smirked at this attempt, as did Toph. When he stopped moving them, she pointed to the one on the right. The dealer lifted it to reveal a pebble.

"You got it." Mikey stated, still going with the act.

"Flame-yo, Toph!" Aang said as well, but he was convinced Toph wasn't doing an act.

"Wow, fancy guessing." The dealer congratulated as he threw down two silver pieces, which Mikey took. "You are amazing at this. Would you like the make the game a little more interesting?" He asked as he played with some coins in his fingers.

" _Here it comes."_ Raph had an idea of what he was going to do.

"More interesting? How?" Toph asked, still going with the act.

"Well… lets say you toss in your friend's fine sword there…" The dealer pointed to Sokka's sword. "Then I'll put up twenty silver pieces against it…" the dealer took up a bag of said coins. "And that's more interesting."

Raph grabbed Sokka's sword and held it towards the dealer. "She'll do it for _forty_ silver pieces!"

Sokka's jaw hung low while Mikey chuckled. The dealer maintained his confident smirk. "Forty silver pieces it is."

The dealer began to move the shells around at a quick pace. Aang and Sokka had trouble keeping up with it as their eyes dotted-back and forth. Mikey was able to keep track however, while Raph was looking at something else. He then noticed the dealer discreetly slip two of the pebbles into his sleeves. Right when he was about to do the last one, Toph clenched her hand for a small bit of Earthbending to keep the pebble in place. Raph smirked.

The dealer stopped moving. Toph smirked as she pointed to the one in the middle. "Sorry little lady…" The dealer began only to look in honest shock as he saw the pebble was still there and even looked at it with his eye up close.

"Sorry pal." Raph stated as he took back Sokka's sword, and the bag of forty silver-pieces. "You loose." Raph gave a toothy smirk while Mikey stuck his tongue out at him.

The group then ran off with their newly acquired money.

* * *

The two Turtles and three members of Team Avatar walked back towards their campsite and most we're laughing at what they just accomplished, and bought a great deal of food and supplies to last a good long time.

"That was awesome!" Mikey exclaimed. "Raph, we've got to take Toph to Vegas!"

"For once Mikey, I agree completely." Raph replied with a grin.

"Where's this Vegas place?" Aang asked.

"I'll tell you when you're old enough." Raph replied.

They made it back to the campsite where Appa was sleeping, Leo was practicing some tai chi, Don was writing on a note-pad, and Katara was making the group some stew. The group dropped their baskets.

"Someone's been busy." Don noted.

"Where did you guys get the money to buy all this stuff?" Katara asked.

"Toph got us money." Mikey answer.

"She didn't beat up people for, did she?" Leo questioned.

"No, no, not at all." Aang replied as he ate an apple and sat down. "She scammed one of those guys in town who moves the shells all sneaky like."

"Oh yeah, I know that game." Don said, as he seemed mildly impressed. Leo looked a bit with concern though, while Katara had a look of disapproval as everyone sat down.

"She used Earthbending to win the game. Classic!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Yeah, for a kid, she wasn't half-bad." Raph complemented as he sat next to Toph and ruffled her hair.

"Ah, so she cheated." Katara stated in a disapproving sort of way, giving a slight glare at Toph who bit a piece of her apple.

"Hey! I only cheated because _he_ was cheating! I cheated a cheater, what's wrong with that?" Toph questioned with a smile.

"Seriously, that dude was practically stealing people's money. I'd say justice served." Mikey said in agreement with Toph.

"I think 'justice served' would be giving all the money he 'stole' back to the people he scammed them from." Don pointed out.

"Come on D, don't be such a killjoy." Raph pointed out. "Now we got enough food for us to last about two weeks. That's pretty good, isn't it?"

"Okay, I admit that was pretty resourceful Toph, and thanks for buying more food as we we're in-fact low on money." Leo told her.

"Your welcome." Toph replied.

"But…." Leo continued. "This kind of thing is something we should only really do if we don't have any other options. We don't need any unwanted attention."

"Leo's right." Katara agreed. "This isn't something we should be making a habit of doing."

"Why? Cause its fun, and you two hate fun?" Toph cracked.

"I resent that!" Mikey pointed out. "Katara _does_ know how to have fun. Remember that whole 'Painted-Lady-thing'? That was kind of fun."

"Thanks Mikey." Katara told him in a tone that said she approved of his point.

"What about you Leo? You hate fun too?" Toph joked to him.

"Oh yeah; guy's a great fighter." Raph joined with Toph. "But his version of a fun time is training. Total tool." He and Toph joked and laughed.

Leo decided not to respond to that and turned to the young Avatar. "Aang, you of all people know how it important it is for us to stay low. We only need to get what we need."

Aang stood up. "Leo, Katara, I'll personally make you an Avatar-Promise that we won't make a habit out of doing these scams." He revealed his arrow-tattoo and made a bowing gesture.

While this happened, Toph and Raph leaned in close. "Got any more tips?" She whispered.

"Kid, class is in session." Raph whispered back as they both snickered.

* * *

What happened next would be a montage of our favorite mischief-makers doing the exact opposite of what Leo and Katara advised.

The group consisting of Toph, Raph, Sokka, Aang, and Mikey, came by a game of some form of dice where two con artists we're behind it. They noticed the blind Toph and invited her to join. She entered and placed her bets. She threw the dice and they rolled on the ground; when it looked like one was about to land on a bad side; Sokka and Mikey grimaced as the con artists slowly smiled. Raph smirked, as did Toph who motioned her head, causing the dice to land on the good side. Mikey and Sokka cheered while the con artists hollered in defeat.

They later came to a High Striker game at a local carnival. A strongman failed to hit the bell with the hammer and slumped in defeat. They all looked to see a hooded Raph holding up a growing bag of money. He picked up the hammer and held up above his shoulder; he smirked towards Toph as Raph placed the hammer on the ground behind him. Toph then stomped on the ground, causing a small rock to spring up. Adding that to Raph's own strength, the hammer slammed down; causing the ball to soar straight up and destroy the bell, and the ball continued to fly up. Everyone's jaws dropped as the hooded Raph walked up and took a chest of they money that was wagered.

At the same time; Aang, a hooded Mikey, and Sokka we're at a ball-throwing game at the carnival; where the top prize was a large amount of money. Sokka threw the ball at one of the stacks of bottles, but only manage to knock a few down. Sokka pouted as Aang patted his back. Mikey made motions to step aside as he places his own bet. The dealer handed him a ball. Mikey licked his finger, as he was about to throw. He turned around with his back facing the game where he three the ball and it bounced off the far side and it soared and brought down all four stacks of bottles. The dealer's jaw dropped as Mikey snapped his fingers; Aang and Sokka brought him the prize money and they walked away.

A horse-drawn carriage, carrying what appeared to be a very wealthy man, passed down the street. Raph and Mikey hung back in the shadows of an alleyway as Toph slowly walked out towards the carriage. Mikey and Raph both held out two balls in each of their hands and smirked to each other as they both threw them right at the wheels of the carriage; causing it to stumble hard. Toph then fell to the ground to make it look like she was run over. The man came out and looked freaked at the fallen Toph before trying to run; but Sokka suddenly appeared with his favorite beard-and-mustache disguise, along with a stick as though he we're a law enforcement officer. The rich man fell on his knees and tried to bribe him with a bag of money; he kept going with more bags until Sokka had about twelve bags. He then winked to the man.

* * *

 _Campsite_

The group had all their money and spoils collected; though two certain individuals clearly did not approve.

"Well, apparently an Avatar-Promise isn't worth very much." Leo said to Aang in a disapproving way.

Aang sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Leo."

"Well we're not!" Mikey exclaimed as he held and toyed with multiple coins in his green fingers. "Check it! We're loaded! This is a freaking gold-mine"

"All that glitters is not gold Mikey." Don pointed out.

"What does that mean?" Sokka asked.

"It means that this 'gold-mine' is gonna blow up in our faces sooner or later." Don translated.

"He's right." Katara agreed. "These scams have gone far enough. If we keep doing them, something bad gonna happen."

"Hey, since when did you and Sokka switch roles?" Raph asked.

"What?" Katara questioned.

"First he was the kill-joy, now it seems the title of 'buzz-kill' has fallen to you." Raph replied to Katara with a smirk. "Congrats Leo, you're not the only one anymore."

"Guys, stop joking around and take this seriously!" Leo pointed out. "I think you're all getting addicted to this. And addictions never end well."

"Geeze, loosen up Leo." Toph flipped him a coin. "Maybe you can learn how to have fun if you do."

"Oh so you want him to be more like you and Raph?" Katara questioned. "Like some wild child?!"

"Duh!" Raph replied.

"I mean look at all of us." Toph began. "We're all traveling the world, making easy-money, having fun, with no parents to tell us what to do." She fell back in relaxation.

Katara then got a knowing smirk. "Ah I see, you're acting like this because of your parents."

"Her parents?" Leo questioned.

Raph glared. "You do _not_ wanna go there, Katara."

Katara ignored Raph and explained to Leo. "They we're controlling over her so she ran away, and now she acts like they don't exist. She may act like she hates them, but she really doesn't, she just feels guilty."

"I _do_ hate them." Toph replied hastily.

"I don't think so." Katara said in response. "I think you miss them, but you just don't want to deal with that, so instead you act like this crazy person."

That left a mark as Toph shot up with anger. "Look, I ran away to help Aang!"

"That's enough." Leo tried to break them up. "We've got more than enough money, we don't need anything else."

"Right! Its bad enough we got a bunch of evil, freaky mutants hunting us!" Katara explained. "No offense guys." She quickly said to all the Turtles.

"None taken." Raph, Leo, Don, and Mikey all replied at the same time.

"Speaking of those evil guys, I've got the perfect name for that group." Sokka tried. "Big ugly, evil copy Turtles!"

Mikey shrugged. "Eh, Dark Turtles sounds cooler. Keep it plain and simple."

Sokka put a hand to his chin. "Hmmm, 'The Dark Turtles'. Yeah that _does_ sound better."

This was largely ignored. "We have enough money! You guys need to stop!" Katara exclaimed.

"I'll stop when I wanna stop and not when you guys tell me!" Toph snatched the bag of money and stormed away before creating an earth-tent around her.

Raph then glared at Katara. "Okay sweet-heart, that whole thing with her parents wasn't cool."

"I don't remember asking you." Katara glared back. "I'll bet you're the one who's telling her its okay to do stuff like this."

"Don't try and change the subject! Do you even know what her folks have done?!" Raph exclaimed. "They sent a couple of low-life bounty hunters to try and kidnap her! That's low! How'd _you_ like it if I said a bunch of crap about your mom?!"

"Don't even go there." Katara warned.

"Why not? You did it with Toph?" Raph questioned as their glares we're inches from each other's faces.

Leo broke them apart. "That's enough! Katara, you probably could have handled that better; but Raph, you need to back off. She's right; these scams have gone far enough. Quit while you guys are ahead."

Raph scoffed. "You ask me, I'd say you're afraid."

"You're right, I am." Leo replied. "I'm afraid of what happens if Shredder finds us!"

"Bro, the Shredder thinks Aang's dead!" Raph argued.

"Exactly, he thinks _Aang's_ dead! Not _us!_ " Leo argued back. "He knows how much of a threat we are, do you wanna just tell him where to find us? Is that what you want?!"

"He ain't gonna find us! We're ninjas, not cowards!" Raph shot back. "Who ya if all you're gonna do is have us run!? Huh, fearless leader?" Raph walked away and bumped Leo's shoulder.

It was quiet for a few seconds. Sokka decided to get away from this. "Hey, if anyone needs me, I'll be spending some of this money, see you guys later." He took up a bag of coins and began to walk away.

"Don, go with him." Leo told the purple-clad Turtle. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Yeah, got it." Don replied as he got up and followed Sokka.

* * *

 _Fire Nation town_

Sokka and the hooded-Don both walked out of the small tower filled with messenger hawks as Sokka just purchased one.

"Hawky, welcome to Team Avatar. My name's Sokka and I'm you're new owner." Sokka greeted his new pet on his arm with Don behind him.

"Why do you even need a messenger bird?" Don questioned. He then sighed in realization. "You're just spending money just to spend it, aren't you?"

Sokka smiled. "Guilty as charged." He then turned back to his hawk. "Hawky, I should warn you there's already a lemur in the group, so I don't wanna see any fighting." Hawky chirped in response. "Good little messenger-hawk. Who's got pretty feathers?" Sokka cooed as he scratched the hawk with his finger.

Don rolled his eyes with an amused smile. But Don's smile vanished as he looked to the wall and saw a wanted poster of a certain Earthbender they all knew. "Uh… Sokka?"

Sokka looked to what Don saw and gasped. He took the wanted poster from the wall. "It blew up in our faces, didn't it?" Sokka questioned to Don.

"Yep." Don confirmed as Hawky cawed a bit, before relieving himself on Sokka's arm, much to his dismay.

* * *

 _Team Avatar's Campsite_

While Aang and Katara we're practicing Waterbending down below near the river, and while Mikey and Leo we're sparring not too far away from them; Raph was lying on top of Appa's back, while Toph was sorting all the bronze, silver, and gold pieces she's collected on their scams. Don and Sokka, with Hawky on his shoulder, both walked up towards Toph, not noticing Raph lying down on Appa.

"Toph, we've got some bad news." Don pointed out as he held out the wanted poster.

"Well it _sounds_ like a sheet of paper. But I guess you're referring to what's _on_ the sheet of paper." Toph replied.

Don mentally smacked himself for forgetting Toph was blind.

"It's a wanted poster of you!" Sokka told her. Raph heard this and immediately shot up from his spot with wide-eyed surprise, but no one seemed to notice him. "They've nicknamed you the 'Runaway'!"

"A wanted poster!" Toph exclaimed in excitement. "That's so great! The Runaway. I love my new nickname! Is there a picture of me? Does it look good?"

Sokka looked at the picture of her on the poster before looking at Toph herself in comparison. "Well yeah actually, it does look pretty good."

"That's not the point Toph." Don stated. "Leo and Katara we're right. These scams are drawing too much attention, the exact opposite of what we need right now."

"Don't be such worrywarts like those two." Toph brushed off. She took up two sacks of money. "Think of it this way, now you two have plenty of money to help with the Invasion plan." She presented the sacks of money.

Don looked skeptical, where as Sokka seemed to catch the bait. "Well that is true." Sokka considered. "I had this idea of making armor for Appa." The Sky-Bison's right eye opened in response.

Toph handed Sokka two gold pieces. "Here's a little extra so you can get yourself a nice map of the Fire Nation. You know what? Make it an atlas." She handed him the whole bag, causing Sokka to smile even more.

"I do like expensive atlases." Sokka took the bag, while Don's eyelids lowered and he lightly face-palmed.

"Of course you do." Toph took the wanted poster from Don's hands. "And that's why this wanted poster is going to stay our little secret." She hid it away and began to walk away, but Don stood in front of her.

"You can bribe Sokka, but not me." Don told the young Earthbender.

"But you're also, not a rat, right?" Toph questioned, irritably.

"Uh, my sensei's a rat, remember?" Don reminded.

Toph then remembered. "Oh, right sorry. But you know what I mean, you're no tattle-tale, cause if you are…?!"

Don held up his hand. "I won't say anything. _If_ you decide to stop with these scams, right now."

"Why should I?" Toph asked with crossed arms.

"It's either that, or I tell Leo and Katara." Don told her. "Your call."

Toph glared with her dull eyes for a few seconds before sighing. "Fine." She then walked away; however, Don failed to notice that Toph had her fingers crossed.

Meanwhile; Leo, Aang, Katara, and Mikey manage to join up with Don and Sokka.

"Uh… is that a hawk?" Leo questioned as he saw the bird on Sokka's shoulder.

"Cool." Mikey simply said with a smile.

Katara however placed a hand on her forehead. "Sokka, tell me you didn't buy a bird."

"Not just any bird, a _messenger_ bird." Sokka corrected with a cocked smile. "Now we can send messages all over the world, even to Gran-Gran."

Katara and Leo both rolled their eyes while Aang looked excited. "Wow, how does it work?" The young Avatar questioned.

Sokka looked thoughtful for a minute. "Hmm, uh… I never actually thought about that."

"He just spent the money cause he wanted to." Don pointed out.

"Of course." Leo and Katara replied at the same time.

Suddenly, Momo leaped onto Aang's shoulders and snarled at Hawky before viciously leaping at him and the two animals chased each other over Sokka; causing Mikey to laugh hard.

"Hawky! Make nice! Bad Hawky!"

As Mikey laughed he looked towards Katara. "Aw come on, you gotta admit, that's pretty funny!"

Katara had to smile a bit as she playfully rolled her eyes and began to walk away as everyone else tried to pull the animals apart. As she did, Raph leapt off the side of Appa and landed in front of her.

"What do you want?" She questioned to the red-clad Turtle with a scowl.

Raph heard everything that happened in the last few minutes and decided to take action. He began to walk past Katara when he said something to her. "Check Toph's tent."

Katara turned around to him with surprise as he walked away. "Wha…? Raph what are…?"

"Just do it." Raph told her. "And you didn't hear it from me." Raph then walked away, leaving a confused Katara. She then began to think of what he meant by that.

Raph hated to do something like this, and he probably wouldn't admit it, but Leo and Katara we're right; this was gonna explode like dynamite.

* * *

 _A couple hours later_

Leo, Raph, Don, and Aang we're having something to eat as Katara attended to some stew and Waterbent it into Appa's mouth for him to drink. Mikey, Sokka, and Toph all returned to the campsite with some more bags of money. Don glared at Toph who just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, look who's back." Leo noted. "Let me guess, you guys we're scamming again."

"Yes we we're." Toph replied, not turning around.

Katara and Leo both appeared behind her. "And I don't suppose you don't think what you're doing is dangerous at all?" Katara questioned.

"No I don't." Toph replied back.

"Oh really?" Leo questioned as well.

"Yes, really." Toph replied back once more.

Katara then reached into her pocket. "Well then, what's this?!" She presented a familiar sheet of paper.

"I don't know!" Toph yelled. "I mean, seriously, what's with you people?! I'm blind!" She pulled down her eyelids for emphasis to show them.

"It's a wanted poster of you!" Leo exclaimed to her. Raph closed his eyes as he sat back, waiting for the inevitable argument.

"The Runaway!" Katara added. "Is that what you're called now? Are you proud of this?!"

"Where did you get that?!" Toph questioned.

Katara may not have liked Raph too much, was not about to rat him out. "It doesn't matter where I got it, the fact is…."

"You went through my stuff!" Toph interrupted. "You had no right!"

"Your stuff was messy, I was straightening up, and I happened to stumble across it." Katara lied, and Toph could tell.

"That's a lie! You're lying, Katara!" Toph exclaimed as she pointed her finger at her face.

Leo shoved Toph's finger from Katara's face. "Fine, so she lied but that's not the point right now. You got people hunting you down now, which is the complete _opposite_ of what we're trying to do! You're addicted to these scams Toph! What did you think was gonna happen?!"

Toph didn't answer as she snatched back the wanted poster and began to storm away.

"Toph! Listen when I'm talking to you!" Leo exclaimed to her.

"You're not my dad!" She shot back at him.

"No, but I _am_ the leader of this team!" Leo replied.

"Maybe you should just marry Katara since she's basically acting like my mom too!" Toph immaturely exclaimed. "But you guys aren't my parents, and you're not _their_ parents!" She gestured to Raph, Aang, Mikey, Don, and Sokka, with Hawky still on his shoulder.

"We never said that!" Katara exclaimed.

"No but you guys certainly act like it!" Toph exclaimed back. "You think it's your job to boss us all around but it's not! You're just a regular kid like the rest of us Katara, and you're a _teenage_ mutant ninja turtle, Leo! So stop acting like you can tell me what to do! I can do whatever I want!"

Leo glared, while Katara looked a bit uncertain. "I don't act that way." She tried before turning to the group. "Sokka, do I act motherly?"

"Hey, I'm staying out of this one." Sokka threw up his hands.

Katara turned to the next one. "What do you think Aang? Do I act like a mom?"

"Well… I…" Aang stuttered as he nervously rubbed his eye.

"Stop rubbing your eye and speak clearly while you talk!" Katara told him.

"Yes ma'am!" Aang quickly replied.

Leo turned back to the Earthbender. "No Toph, we're not your parents; but this isn't about you! You're actions are going to endanger the entire group! What'll happen if the bad guys find out where we are and come after us?! Have you thought about that?!"

"Shut up Leo! You don't know what you're talking about!" Toph exclaimed.

"Yes I do!" Leo yelled at her. "You don't know Shredder! If he finds out…."

"Shredder-this, Shredder-that; quit making such a big deal out of him! He's just one guy!" Toph exclaimed even further

"One guy who almost killed the Avatar!" Leo reminded. "You even tried fighting him and he took you down in mere seconds! Remember?! I may not know anything about your parents, but I don't think you being dead is what they want! How do you think your mother would feel if that happened?!"

"What do you know?! You don't even have a mom!" Toph told him.

That caused Leo's eyes to widen. Katara gasped at that; while Aang and Sokka looked surprised. Mikey and Don's eyes widened as well, and even Raph was taken aback.

It was silent for a minute before Katara spoke up with a angry glare. "Toph how can you say that?!"

"What?! It's true! I'm only stating a fact"

"Can you even hear yourself?! Can…" Katara tried, but Leo put a hand out in front of her.

Leo had is other hand clenched into a fist as he had some anger building up inside. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm himself. He opened his eyes and spoke with a calm voice but with glaring eyes.

"This subject is not up for debate." Leo told the young Earthbender. "As long as I am still breathing, I _am_ the leader of this team. You are done. I don't care what you have to say; you're done with these scams. That is final." Leo then began to walk away.

"Leo, bro…" Mikey tried but he was already pretty far away. He then turned to Toph. "That wasn't cool."

"Got that right." Katara agreed. "You have to apologize to him!"

"Ugh! I can't be around any of you right now!" Toph stormed away.

"Well I can't be around _you_!" Katara stormed off as well.

Once the three we're gone, they left the remainder of the group alone in silence. "Did it just get really quiet here all of a sudden?" Don asked.

Hawky screeched. "I know Hawky, why can't they just get along?" Sokka questioned as well.

* * *

 _Later in the afternoon_

The sun was low and the sky was orange. Leo was somewhere away from the campsite while Toph and Katara sat on opposite ends, far away from each other. In the middle of it sat Aang, Raph, Sokka (still with Hawky on his shoulder), Mikey, and Don.

Sokka soon got an idea. "Hey guys, I've got an idea."

"What is it?" Aang asked.

"I'll use my messenger-hawk to send a note to Katara, and another to Leo, and say they're from Toph who wants to apologize. And then everyone will be friends again."

Raph, Don, and even Mikey all sighed as they face-palmed at the exact same time.

"What?" Sokka questioned.

"Toph is _blind_ you moron." Raph told Sokka. "She can't write a letter!"

"Seriously Sokka, even _I_ know that." Mikey deadpanned.

Realization hit Sokka like a rock. "Oh, right."

Aang soon fought of something. "Hey, what if we make it so Leo sent a message to Toph!"

"What part of 'Toph is blind' didn't you understand?" Don asked. "She wouldn't be able to read it."

"So what _do_ we do then?" Aang asked. "I mean, I hate it when my friends fight."

"Welcome to our world." Don rolled his eyes, being all-too-familiar with this sort of thing. "Family squabbles are typical in our group."

Raph sighed as he got up. "Let me handle this." He began to walk towards Toph while the group looked in surprise. Was this the same Raph they knew?

"Uh… since when did _Raph_ become the voice of reason?" Sokka questioned with circular eyes.

Raph walked up to the sitting Toph. "Kid, we need to talk."

* * *

At a nearby cliffside, Leo took out his swords to get some practicing done, as he swung them, the whole 'mom-comment' from Toph stuck and it burnt quite a bit. Leo began to get a bit angry as he let off some steam. He kicked up a series of rocks and angrily swung his katanas and cut them down to little bits of dust and pebbles as he angrily breathed in and out. He soon took a deep breath and calmed down. Out of the corner of his eye though, he spotted Toph and Raph a distance away and the two sat down on the edge with the river below.

Below said edge was also Katara, who was bathing in the river in an attempt to cool herself off.

"So, what do you wanna talk about Raph?" Toph asked as they sat down; neither of them seemed to notice Leo or Katara in their respective spots listening to the conversation.

"Just about all that crap back there between you and them." Raph told her.

Toph groaned. "Seriously, how do you live with someone like Leo?"

"You know that whole mom-thing you said to him; that really stung." Raph pointed out.

"I said that to him, not you." Toph replied.

"Yeah, but he's my brother; so are Don and Mikey. I know it wasn't aimed at all of us, but you did kind of include us in it. And… I didn't really like it either." Raph got those last words out and Toph seemed to get it.

"Oh… well… sorry. You know we're still friends, right Raph?" She asked.

"Yeah, and that's why I'm here right now." Raph told her. "You say Leo and Katara are both being bossy and your right." As Raph talked; Katara heard this and looked away with a scowl, while Leo had a look that said he wasn't surprised as he expecting this from Raph.

"I know, major pain, right?" Toph tried.

"Actually kid, I sort of rely on that kind of thing." Raph pointed out. That caught both Leo and Katara's attention.

"What do you mean?" Toph asked.

"I can't speak a whole lot for Katara." Raph began. "But try and look at it from her point-of-view. Her mom is dead, I may have a mom, but I know how that feeling goes. This one time, we lost Master Splinter and had no idea whether he was dead or alive. And the thought of him being gone, and not coming back… that scares me."

Toph was surprised. "You? Scared?"

"Yeah."

"But… you're… you're not scared of anything! I've been with you this whole time and you kick serious butt!" Toph recalled.

"I ain't invincible Toph. And Leo is right about Shredder. I'm not scared of _him_ ; I'm scared of what he can do. The first time my brothers and I fought him, he kicked our shells all over the place. I actually thought we we're going to die, for real. That's how serious this is."

"I… I know he's tough but… seriously?" Toph stuttered.

"Dead serious." Raph told her. "I don't want that to happen to you, and neither does Leo. He's the leader of the team, and he's more than fit to do it." Raph looked down a bit. "I never told him this, but he's a natural-born leader."

Leo heard this and was surprised to say the least.

"But… what about you?" Toph asked. "Didn't you want to be leader?"

"Yeah, I did." Raph admitted truthfully. "But, Leo's a much better fit than me. I may be strong, but I can also be a major hothead. He's always the levelheaded one. Whenever I would lead, I always lead the group into trouble."

Raph then began to recount a memory. "This one time when we we're kids, I brought him to a closed-off section of the sewer back home. We we're playing Follow-The-Leader..."

* * *

 _Flashback_

Little Raph and Little Leo played their game in the sewers as Little Raph began to pull boards off the entrance to the closed-off area.

"Raph! You can't go in there!" Little Leo told him.

"Hey its my turn! You're supposed to follow _my_ lead!" Little Raph replied back as he pulled off a board.

"But Splinter says…"

"Splinter says, Splinter says; when are you gonna think for yourself?" Little Raph questioned. "That's what a real leader does." He kicked off some boards and left himself an opening. "Now catch me if you can!" He ran in.

Little Leo kicked off some more boards for his own opening and followed his brother.

Little Raph hopped on a drifting piece of wood in the sewer's water current. "Wahoo!" He yelled as he rode it down the tunnel. Little Leo mimicked his action with his own board.

They rode for a bit as Little Raph got ahead and came upon a spot where he had to hop off as he found a drainage-junction. "Huh? Dead end?" He began to think. "Must have taken a wrong turn."

He then noticed something moving in the water below him. "Uh… Leo?"

All of a sudden, a massive Albino Crocodile sprung out of the water, causing Little Raph to stumble back. He quickly got up to his feet and ran away screaming with the Albino Crocodile right behind him, roaring and snapping its jaws.

It was about to bite down on Little Raph, but Little Leo jumped and pushed his brother out of the way. As the Croc tried to get up, it accidentally slammed its head on the roof of the tunnel.

"Come on! Lets jet!" Little Leo exclaimed as he jumped over the Croc's tail.

"No way!" Little Raph protested as he faced the glaring Croc. "This walking hand-bag's intruding on our turf!"

" _You're_ the intruder shell-for-brains! Now lets get out of here!" Little Leo gestured to run, but Little Raph wouldn't have it.

"Hey I'm the leader of this turn, remember?" Little Raph reminded as he punched his right fist into his left palm with a smirk. He jumped towards the Croc.

"Fine. Handle it your way." Little Leo told him as he watched Little Raph clamp onto the Croc's jaws and held the mouth closed. The Croc struggled as it went back into the water at the drainage-junction and got back up to shake him off.

"Can I offer a strategy-tip?" Little Leo suggested.

"No!" Little Raph exclaimed as he still held the jaws of the large thrashing Croc. It sunk back down for a few seconds before coming back up. "I got him on the ropes!" Little Raph yelled as the Croc tried to shake him off. "He's right where I want em!"

Little Leo moved out of the way as the Croc slammed his jaw, and Little Raph, onto the ceiling of the tunnel, and knocked Little Raph off. He got back up with a scared look as the Croc extended his freed jaws to chow down.

"Right. That's it." Little Leo jumped high and landed on the massive Croc's head, and immediately put his finger hard on the Crock's left cheek. It roared for a minute before falling asleep.

"What'd you do? What'd you do?" The surprised Little Raph asked.

Little Leo hopped down with a smile as he dusted his hands. "Heh, pressure points."

"Alligator pressure points?" Little Raph questioned as Little Leo helped him up.

"Little trick Master Splinter taught me." Little Leo explained. "Come on, he won't sleep forever. How about another round of Follow-The-Leader? As in, back home?" Little Leo ran down towards the exit.

"Lead the way." Little Raph replied with a smile as he followed him.

* * *

 _Present time_

Raph had finished telling the story to Toph. "Wow." That was the only word she could think of.

"Yeah, Leo really saved my shell back there." Raph told her. "And that wasn't the only time. Leo's the leader of the team, and he's also the oldest brother. Its his job to look after us."

Leo heard every word from the spot he was still at.

"And I think Katara also follows along those lines." Raph continued. "Naggyness aside, she's looking out for you, for everyone, just like Leo. You say she acts all motherly, but I kinda like that about her."

Katara heard that from her spot as well and looked with a surprised expression on her face.

"What do you mean?" Toph asked.

"Like you said before, we don't have a mom." Raph began. "I mean yeah we got Master Splinter and he's awesome; but, sometimes when my brothers and I go out on the surface, and we see families with moms, dads, and kids; a part of me, kind of wonders what it would be like to have a mom. I've never had that before and well…" Raph sighed. "It kind of makes me want one."

Toph listened to all of this and was starting to get choked up a bit. "Yeah; Leo and Katara both act bossy, but that's not really a bad thing. They're both there and they actually care about me." Some tears we're welling up in her eyes. "The _real_ me. That's more than my own parents."

As Katara heard all this, she sunk a bit in the water and let some tears flow down her face. Leo heard everything as well and took a deep sigh as he sat down by a rock.

Raph gave a slight chuckle. "Toph, we all care about the real you. Hell, the real you is the coolest twelve-year-old on this stinkin planet! And don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

The red-clad Turtle stood up and was about to walk away. "Hey, Raph." He turned around when Toph called him. She stood up and slowly walked to him. He found himself surprised when she latched her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. Her head was just below his rib cage when Raph placed a hand on the top of her head.

Toph's grip around him tightened. "If you tell anyone I told you all this I'll beat you senseless."

Raph smiled. "I'd be disappointed if you didn't kid."

* * *

 _Later that evening_

Leo and Katara we're both back at the campsite and spotted Toph and Raph heading in their general direction. Raph ruffled Toph's hair one more time before walking away as Toph went to the two older individuals and they met her half-way.

"Hey Toph I…" Katara tried.

"Guys stop, you don't need to apologize." Toph began. "I was the one being stupid." She turned to blue-clad Turtle. "Leo, I'm sorry about what I said with that whole mom-thing. It was a stupid thing of me to say and I didn't really mean it."

Leo gave a smile. "Apology accepted."

Toph smiled before turning to Katara. "You and Leo we're right Katara, these scams are out of control and I'm done with them."

The Leo and Katara both shared a knowing smile. "Actually, its funny you mentioned that." Katara began.

"We we're thinking about pulling off a scam with you." Leo told her.

The entire group was completely shocked. Aang, Sokka, and Mikey all had flasturgated looks on their faces; Don dropped everything he had; and Raph spat out his drink.

"What?" A surprised Toph questioned. " _You guys_ wanna pull a scam?!"

"Not just any scam, the ultimate scam." Leo replied with a grin.

Mikey, Sokka, and Aang all comically fainted when they heard that.

"So what do you say Toph?" Katara asked with a mischievous grin. "Just us. One last go. you in?"

Toph smiled evilly. "You know I'm in, so what's this idea of yours?"

Raph merely grimaced from his spot as he had a very bad feeling about this while Don tried to help everyone else back on their feet.

"This whole thing was Leo's idea, and its actually brilliant." Katara told Toph as the three sat together in a small circle.

Leo then began as he held up Toph's wanted poster. "This wanted poster has a bounty on you that is ten times the worth of all you're scams. So, Katara is going to help 'capture you' and get the reward money. Once she has it, you use your Metalbending to break out of the cell and you both come back to the campsite. Simple enough."

"So where are you on this?" Toph asked.

"I can't really be seen here." Leo explained. "The authorities are going to want to see my face if I'm involved and that's not really an option. So I'll be back at the campsite. Sound like a plan?"

"The best plan you ever came up with!" Toph excitedly exclaimed.

"But, once we both get back here we're gonna have to leave. This will be our last scam." Katara said.

"Got it." Toph replied. "Now lets get to work."

* * *

 _The Next Day_

Toph was running through the Fire Nation town and towards a large statue of Ozai that shot fire out of its fists and mouth like some sort of fire-fountain. As she ran, a few police officers threw a net and she found herself completely entangled in it.

"How could you do this to me?! You betrayed me?!" Toph exclaimed, as part of the act.

Katara looked down on her with a fake glare. "You brought this on yourself, I had no choice." She turned around with crossed arms. As they dragged off Toph, Katara had a knowing smirk on her face, indicating they pulled it off.

A law enforcement officer walked towards her. "You did the right thing by turning in the Runaway."

"The right thing is its own reward." Katara said.

"Well, I'm happy to hear you say that."

"But… I still want the _actual_ reward." Katara pointed out.

"Of course, right this way." The officer began to lead her to his office.

* * *

Toph was pulled into a building that served as the town's jailhouse, still entangled in the net. The female officer who pulled her dragged her towards a certain cell and threw her in. When Toph got out of the net as the officer closed the gate, she felt something off about it.

"Hey, what kind of cell is this?!" Toph questioned.

"A wooden one." The officer answered; causing Toph's eyes to widen in shock.

* * *

The officer was pulling out a box supposedly filled with the reward he was about to present to Katara, when she failed to notice a large individual with a brown hooded robe entering from the door behind her. But the officer saw him clearly.

"That's her. That's the girl you we're looking for!"

Katara turned around in surprise to see the individual, but he took off his hood to reveal his face as Dark Leo.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Dark Leo told the officer as he looked down on Katara with an evil grin, causing her to look in horror.

* * *

 _Team Avatar's Campsite_

The remainder of the group found themselves waiting for Toph and Katara to return, but they had been waiting for at least two hours, which was too long. Aang even found himself pacing.

"Something's not right." Raph pointed out.

"Yeah, you think their scam should be taking this long?" Aang wordily wondered.

"No it shouldn't." Leo pointed out. "Come on, let's check it out.

Sokka turned to Hawky and Momo. "You two behave, Appa's in charge." The four Turtles, young Avatar, and non-bender, all left to check on their friends.

Once they left, Momo and Hawky screeched and snarled at each other, but Appa gave a loud roar for them to stop, which they did immediately.

* * *

Katara and Toph both sat alone in the wooden cell they shared, when Toph suddenly realized something.

"Wait! It's a trap!"

"Really?" Katara replied in clear sarcasm. "No kidding! Is that why we're sitting in a wooden cage right now? Gee, how'd you figure out it was a trap?"

"Not for _us_ , Katara!" Toph replied. "We're just the bait. Those rip-off Turtles want _Aang!_ "

Katara realized Toph was right with wide eyes. "Ugh. I can't believe I was so stupid. You see? This is why Leo and I we're against these scams. We knew this would happen!"

"But this was yours and Leo's idea, remember?" Toph reminded.

"I know." Katara sunk. "I wanted to show you that I'm not so motherly. I wanted to show you that I can have fun to."

"Katara, you _are_ fun." Toph told her. "If nothing else, you're at least fun to argue with." She said in a slight smile.

"I know you're relationship with your parents is complicated, and I shouldn't have said what I said." Katara told her apologetically.

"It's okay." Toph replied. "I was really mad when you said that because…. Well because maybe it's true." A few tears began to form in her eyes. "I try not to think about it but when I left, I probably really hurt them."

Toph sobbed and cried slightly, while Katara pulled her in for a comforting embrace.

* * *

The hooded Turtles, as well as Aang and Sokka, both walked through the town, which was unusually empty.

"Where do you think they might be?" Sokka wondered.

"Where do you think anyone is?" Aang wondered as well, referring to the entire town.

"Yeah, its like a ghost town out here." Don said in agreement with Aang.

"Dudes, I'm getting a bad feeling about this." Mikey shuddered.

Leo stopped for a second a head of the group and held his hand out. He pulled off his hood and looked around. "Anyone else feel like we we're expected?"

"Yeah, its family reunion time in the Fire Nation!" A new voice spoke out.

This was from Dark Raph as he jumped down in front of them from a rooftop, followed by Dark Don, Dark Leo, and Dark Mikey.

"The Dark Turtles!" Aang exclaimed in surprise as the Turtles and Sokka each drew their respective weapons.

"I knew something stank around here." Raph growled.

The Dark Turtles each yelled as they leapt high into the air and down towards the group of heroes; forcing them each to scatter. Raph was able to avoid a punch from Dark Raph that left a hole in the ground.

"Psycho clones." Raph growled again. "Just another reason I hate this whole adventure!" He continued to avoid the swings from Dark Raph's knuckle talons.

Leo found himself backing up and parrying swords with Dark Leo, with Aang right behind him. Dark Leo performed a sweeping kick, causing Leo to jump while Dark Leo tried to slash at Aang with his left blade, but he covered both his hands in stone and caught the sword in a clap. Leo tried to slash down as he fell, but Dark Leo blocked it with his right blade and struggled against both of them.

"Where are Katara and Toph!?" Aang demanded. "What have you done with them?!"

"And where did you clones even come from anyway?!" Leo demanded as well.

"Details, details." Dark Leo told them. "You two should be paying attention to more immediate matters, like keeping your heads on!"

Dark Leo pulled his blades back as he tried to swing and decapitate but both Aang and Leo jumped back to avoid them.

Dark Don swung relentlessly with his claws at Don and Sokka. Don jumped back as Sokka lunged forward with his space sword, but Dark Don was able to block it with his right arm-guard and moved in to punch Sokka in the gut and send him back while Don came in under Sokka with the swing of his staff, which Dark Don blocked with both his arm-guards but was knocked back still.

Mikey back-flipped backwards to get some distance between himself and Dark Mikey. He back-flipped and jumped onto a house as Dark Mikey hit the ground where Mikey used to be, and Mikey used this moment to jump down and kick Dark Mikey in the chest, causing him to crash into a wall.

* * *

 _Wooden Cell_

Despite still being in a wooden cage with no earth, Toph was still able to tell what was going on with her advanced hearing. "The fighting has stated!"

"Well what are we going to do?" Katara questioned.

"I don't know!" Toph replied. "I wish we had some earth or water, we need bendables!"

Katara got an idea. "Well what about your meteor-bracelet? You could make a saw!"

"I left it back at camp." Toph revealed as she and Katara slumped. "I was worried they would take it."

Katara felt how hot it was in the cell and rubbed her forehead. She then saw the sweat on her hand and soon got an idea. She then began to run in place to build up more sweat.

"Um Katara…. Are you okay?" Toph asked confusedly.

"Just fine." She replied as she continued running in place.

"So what are you doing?"

"I'm making my own water." Katara had enough sweat and began to Waterbend a small blade, which she used to begin cutting through the wooden cell.

Toph realized what she was doing and smiled. "Katara! You're a genius! A sweaty, stinky, genius!" She exclaimed as Katara continued to cut through.

* * *

Back outside; Raph and Dark Raph continued to clash as Raph avoided all the talon-knuckle attacks from his larger clone.

"You're one ugly Turtle!" Dark Raph stated.

"Whoa! Did you just call _me_ ugly?" Raph questioned as he caught a talon-knuckle in between his sais and gave a flip-kick to Dark Raph's jaw. "You look like something our toilets spit up!"

Dark Raph growled but was soon hit in the back with a series of boulders, curtsey of the newly Toph. "Seriously, I don't have to see to know just how ugly you are, you cheap knock off!" She cracked to Dark Raph as she bent an earth-wave at him.

Dark Raph however was able to plow through it with his shoulder as Raph jumped above him and joined Toph.

"Good to see ya kid. You okay?"

"I will be. After we pound these losers." They both grinned as they charged at Dark Raph.

Mikey was knocked back from Dark Mikey's club attack as Dark Mikey chuckled insanely as usual.

"You know, this is just like the time Doc Dome had to fight his evil clone in the old Justice Force comics." Mikey stated.

"Justice Force?" Dark Mikey questioned. "That book sucked eggs!"

That stung Mikey. "Justice Force… sucked eggs?" He growled. "BLASPHEMY!" Mikey grabbed Dark Mikey by his long parasitic-tongue. "You're no clone of mine!" Mikey soon screamed at what he just did.

"I just touched my tongue!" Mikey and Dark Mikey exclaimed at the same time.

Before Dark Mikey knew it, he was swept up in a water-whip and tossed aside, causing him to skid across the ground. Katara ran up close to Mikey.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, thanks Sis." Mikey thanked, causing her to smile.

However, despite the additions of both Toph and Katara; it would seem the heroes we're on equal terms with the Dark Turtles. Despite the odds being two-on-one, the Dark Turtles we're more than capable of holding their own. It was evident they we're prepared for this fight. Aang, Leo, Don, Sokka, Mikey, Katara, Toph, and Raph all found themselves in an eight-way back-to-back formation as the Dark Turtles surrounded them from all sides.

"I seem to remember these guys going down a lot easier last time." Sokka recalled.

"Looks like they we're prepared." Aang guessed.

"They think like just us, and move just like us." Don stated.

"We still got one thing they don't." Leo told everyone in the group. "A real reason to fight. Everyone! Switch opponents!"

The eight young heroes all split up, but this time facing different enemies.

Raph was parrying his sais against the clubs of Dark Mikey. "I always wanted to kick Mikey's butt!" Raph said excitedly as he slashed, but Dark Mikey blocked that one slash.

"In your dreams." Dark Mikey replied back.

Raph jumped as Toph suddenly popped out of the ground with rock-gauntlets on both her arms and grabbed Dark Mikey by his face with her right gauntlet.

"Okay, nighty-night!" Toph stated as she reeled back her left gauntlet and punched Dark Mikey so hard he was sent flying through two buildings. He fell on the ground after the second building and let out several dazed grunts before falling unconscious.

Katara covered both her arms with two long water-whips as she parried the relentless punches from Dark Raph's knuckle-talons. He tried to punch her, but she leaped to the side as he punched the ground. Mikey came in from behind Katara and flashed a nunchuck strike right to Dark Raph's jaw and he roared at both of them.

"You know, as much as I hate to admit it, you are better looking than Raph." Mikey told him.

"Yeah, you're right he does." Katara agreed with Mikey.

Dark Raph actually took that to heart. "You're kidding. You really think so?" He asked with a smile.

Katara and Mikey both looked to each other with confused blinks. "Its called sarcasm Captain Clueless." Mikey told him.

"Yeah, you might wanna look it up when you wake up." Katara said in agreement as they went on the offensive.

They each took turns with a nunchuck-strike and water-whip to Dark Raph's face. First Mikey, then Katara, then back to Mikey, and back to Katara again until they both came in at the same time with diagonal strikes from both a water-whip and a nunchuck in the form of an X right in Dark Raph's face.

He found himself dizzy was he was seeing stars. "I'm pretty." He said dizzily before falling flat on the ground.

Katara couldn't help but smirk. "You know, there's something about beating up Raph that just feels so right."

Mikey chuckled as he and Katara both fist-bumped.

Meanwhile, Aang was on rooftop using his own Airbending speed to avoid the continuous slashes of Dark Don's claws. However, Dark Don snapped his tail at Aang and caused him to slide back to the edge of the rooftop.

"Look out! Behind you!" Aang pointed behind Dark Don.

Dark Don didn't appear to fall for it. "Oh ha, ha! Nice try." He didn't notice Leo running in from behind. "But I'm a clone of the smart one, remember?"

Leo then struck from behind with both his feet, sending Dark Don right towards Aang, who inhaled a massive gust of air, before unleashing it right on Dark Don and sending him flying all the way to the other side of the town and crashing into a roof.

"Yeah, I remember." Aang answered to Dark Don's previous question as Leo helped him up.

Sokka yelled as he slashed with his space-sword at Dark Leo, but he was able to effortlessly block all his attacks. Don tried to come in with a pole-vault kick, but Dark Leo jumped back and crossed his blades to block Don's kick and throw him off. However everyone else soon surrounded Dark Leo as Mikey and Katara we're behind him, Aang and Leo on the right, and Raph and Toph on the left.

"And then there was one." Don said to the only remaining Dark Turtle.

"One's all it takes. To kill the Avatar, and most of you!" Dark Leo growled.

"And just how are you gonna do that, pal?" Sokka questioned with a gloating smirk.

Dark Leo had his own smirk as he put his blades back in his sheathes and pulled out from behind some form of laser-gun and begun to fire a series of red lasers. The lasers exploded as they made contact with the ground, forcing all the Turtles and kids to roll and duck for cover as Dark Leo continued to shoot.

He stopped firing briefly to look at the rubble and smoke everywhere from his shots and didn't see anyone as they we're hiding.

Toph and Katara found themselves crouched around a corner of a nearby building. Toph's hearing was able to detect the sound of moving water as they we're close to a small fountain nearby. She smirked.

"Hey Katara, I've got an idea." Toph whispered.

"I'm listening." Katara replied.

Dark Leo continued to search and was growing frustrated. "Where are you cowards?!"

An answer soon came in the form of a large water-tentacle that wrapped around Dark Leo's body and quickly froze into solid ice. He then suddenly found himself moving at a rapid pace. Toph was moving on a large earth-ramp just like in the beginning with Katara ridding with her in front and holding the water/ice restraint around Dark Leo.

"Aw what's the matter?" Toph teased to Dark Leo.

"Ever heard of a two-pronged attack?" Katara teased with a smirk as well as Toph's earth-ramp excelled at an even faster speed.

Dark Leo screamed at how fast he was moving and where he was heading as Toph and Katara quickly jumped off and Dark Leo soared right into the massive statue of Ozai and it soon collapsed all on top of him.

Toph and Katara got back on their feet and high-fived. "Yeah!" Both girls yelled excitedly.

Raph whistled impressively as everyone caught up with them. "Nice one."

"Wow, you guys make a great team!" Aang congratulated.

"Yeah, we do." Katara agreed as she and Toph looked to each other with smiles.

Leo smiled as well. "Come on, we better get out of here before all our 'evil twins' wake up."

"Yeah, good idea." Don agreed as well as the group began to make their way out of the partially destroyed town.

* * *

 _Later that night_

The large group of young heroes all flew away to a far and new campsite on Appa, in an effort to put as much distance between themselves and the Dark Turtles as possible and came under a large rock formation with no towns nearby.

Most of the group was getting off to get some sleep, even Sokka as he yawned. "I'm exhausted." He turned to Hawky on his arm. "Hawky, how about you buddy?"

Hawky cawed in response. "Yeah, you're such a lazy little bird." Sokka told him as he slid off Appa.

Before Katara got off, Toph held her arm quickly. "Katara, I need your help."

Katara sat down in front of her. "What is it Toph?"

Toph held up a sheet of paper. "I need you to write some things down for me. I want to send a letter to my parents."

Katara gave an honest smile. "I'll be happy to help."

Raph heard all of this from below and gave his own smile. He looked and saw his older brother setting up camp.

"Hey Leo, you got a sec?" Raph asked as he walked up.

Leo stood up and met his brother. "Yeah Raph?"

Raph rubbed the back of his neck. "Look bro… I don't say it to often but… you're a great leader. And a pretty awesome brother to. So… yeah, you know what I mean?"

Leo smiled in understanding. "Yeah, I do." He put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Thanks Raph."

"No prob." Raph replied before smirking. "But don't let it get to your head bro."

Leo gave his own smirk in response. "That's why I have you here."

They both turned and looked to see Katara place Toph's finished letter inside Hawky's satchel and send the messenger-hawk on its way.

"Hey, where's Hawky?" Sokka asked; this caused both Leo and Raph to chuckle.

 **Done.**

 **I hope you like this chapter, as this was one of my favorites. Don't worry; there is plenty more action is to come. See you next time on Worlds Collide.**


	21. The Puppetmaster

**Hello to all my loyal followers. I apologize for the long wait, but in addition to both school and work, I had a story that I had neglected a bit to update. But now I am here with the next chapter in Worlds Collide. I really appreciate all the support you've given me. I also like to thank the people, who keep sending me ideas, but I already have a basic plan down and I plan to stick with it; though I may take into account a few minor suggestions you might have. And now, lets get started shall we? I've been waiting to do this chapter for a while and I know you've been looking forward to it. However, expect some minor changes from the cannon episode.**

 **I own neither Avatar nor Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **The Puppetmaster**

It was late at night in the Fire Nation. A Waxing Gibbous Moon hung over with an eerie white glow. It hung over a large mountain, surrounded by a dense forest. In this one particular forest; the group that is Team Avatar, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, all hung by a campfire with Appa sleeping in a nearby cave. Sokka had suggested that they start sharing scary stories; and the Turtles had one particular story in mind.

"And so Leo took the meteor spear and he jammed it right into that monster!" Don continued to tell the tale.

"With the creature dead, the old guy instantly turned to dust." Mikey continued. "Because he _was_ C.F. Vopelhart!"

The Turtles had finished telling the story of their battle against the Necro Monster after their friend, Angel's brother disappeared and they had to rescue him from some sort of alien-demonic entity. The group of Team Avatar we're hung onto the story and each had a different reaction. Aang shivered, Katara held onto her knees self-protectively while her eyes quivered. Even Toph was shaking a little bit. As for Sokka, he was hiding behind a bush with Momo, both their head slowly peaking out.

"So… you guys killed some kind of demon from outer space that mind controls people into helping it?" Toph summed up.

"Yeah that's the sum of it." Raph replied.

"But not just that, it also fed off a person's fear." Leo explained. "Imagine living your absolute worst fear, over, and over, and over again; until you die."

Team Avatar looked freaked out. "Okay, that's scary." Aang said with a shiver.

"Yeah, I don't know how I would handle something like that." Katara agreed.

"You guys sure you killed that thing?" Sokka asked as he slowly walked out of the bushes.

"Oh yeah, that freak is _looong_ gone!" Mikey assured, causing the group to look quite relieved as Mikey continued. "Moral of the story…" The light from the campfire highlighted the orange-clad Turtle's face as he spoke in a dramatic voice.

"Perhaps there are some things, man was never meant to tamper with."

"So… anyone got any other stories to tell? I'd like to see you beat that." Raph challenged.

"Well… I don't know about any demons; but this is a true Southern Water Tribe story." Katara said.

Sokka looked skeptical as he sat down. "Is this one of those 'friend-of-my-cousin-knew-some-guy-that-this-happened-to' stories?"

"No, it happened to Mom."

Now Sokka was interested; it even caught the attention of Mikey, Leo, Don, and even Raph.

"One winter, when Mom was a girl, a snowstorm buried the whole village for weeks. A month later, Mom realized she hadn't seen her friend Nini since the storm. So Mom and some others went to check on Nini's family. When they got there, no one was home, just a fire, flickering in the fire-place"

Aang, Mikey, and Sokka were starting to get more than a little nervous; Toph unconsciously moved a bit closer to Raph who was listening intently with Leo and Don.

"While the men went out to search, Mom stayed in the house. When she was alone, she heard a voice. 'It's so cold and I can't get warm'." Katara made it sound like a little child with an extra creepy tone to it.

Sokka was getting a bit jumpy, when Katara looked towards Mikey he clung to Raph, who immediately shoved him off with his palm.

"Mom turned and saw Nini standing by the fire." Katara continued. "She was blue, like she was frozen. Mom ran outside for help. But when everyone came back, Nini was gone."

Aang held Momo close; Mikey and Sokka both ducked behind a large tree-root. Leo, Toph, Don, and even Raph looked in surprise.

"So, where'd she go?" Mikey nervously asked.

"No one knows." Katara continued. "Nini's house stands empty to this day. But sometimes, people can still see smoke coming up from the chimney; like little-Nini is still trying to get warm."

It was silent for a bit. "Okay… I gotta admit that's a good one." Raph said.

Toph then felt something that made her gasp. "Wait! Guys, did you hear that?!"

Aang, Katara, Mikey, and Sokka all clung to each other with Momo in fear; while Leo, Raph, and Don shot up to their feet.

"What? Hear what?" Don questioned.

"I hear some people under the mountain. And they're screaming!" Toph answered.

"What?" Leo asked.

The shaking group stopped shaking for a minute as Sokka tried to look confident. "Pttf, nice try."

Mikey tried to look confident to. "Yeah, you're gonna have to do better than that."

"No I'm serious, I hear something." Toph insisted.

"Is this a Seismic-Sense thing?" Raph asked.

"Well I'm not hearing anything." Don reported.

"You're probably just jumpy from the ghost stories Toph." Katara assumed.

Toph then heard silence. "It just… stopped."

Now Leo looked concerned. "How can sudden screaming just stop? Are you sure you head something?"

"Alright, now I'm getting scared." Aang said as he still hung to Katara.

"Hello children."

The kids, and Mikey, all screamed as they ran to the other side of the campfire. The Turtles immediately pulled up their hoods and drew their weapons, as they stood protectively in front of their friends ready for a fight.

An elderly woman wearing a brown robe walked into the light with a warm smile. "Sorry to frighten you."

"Who are you?!" Raph demanded as he pointed his sai. However, Leo lowered Raph's arm.

"Easy Raph, don't make a scene."

"You don't need to worry, I mean you no harm. My name is Hama." The group appeared to ease up a bit. "You all shouldn't be out in the forest by yourselves at night. I have an inn nearby, why don't you come back there for some nice tea and warm beds?"

"Yes please." Sokka accepted.

Hama turned around and began to lead the group; while the Turtles hung back and quietly talked amongst them.

"She snuck up on us. No one sneaks up on us." Raph whispered.

"I know, creepy right." Mikey replied.

"Can we really afford a stay like this?" Don asked Leo.

"We are a bit slightly ahead of schedule, it won't harm us if we stay for maybe two or three days. Come on."

* * *

Hama had led the eight of them to her inn. Katara, Sokka, Mikey, Aang, and Don all sat at the table while Leo and Raph leaned on the walls. The Turtles had their hoods on for obvious reasons.

Hama was pouring the group some warm tea.

"Thanks for letting us stay here tonight, you have a lovely inn." Katara thanked.

"Aren't you sweet." Hama replied.

"I just hope its not too much trouble, we wouldn't want to impose." Don said.

"Oh its no trouble at all." Hama assured as she sat down. "You know you should be careful. People have been disappearing in those woods you we're camping in."

"What do you mean by 'disappearing'?" Leo asked.

"When the moon turns full, people walk in and they don't come out." She oddly had a smile on her face right after saying that. "Who wants more tea?" Hama looked to see the kids with concerned looks on their faces and the hooded individuals paying close attention.

"Don't worry you'll all be completely safe here. Why don't I show you to your rooms and you can get a good night's rest." Hama offered.

* * *

Each of them had been shown to a room; two people we're in one room. Leo bunked with Aang, Mikey with Raph, Toph with Katara, and Don with Sokka and Momo.

Each room had two beds. Don was sound asleep on his bed, but Sokka had trouble sleeping. He tossed a bit in his bed. Soon a creaking sound was heard, Sokka was quickly startled as he shot up with his space-sword at the ready, even Momo was startled awake.

"Sokka, come on, get some sleep." Don told him with a yawn.

"Hey, it's not my fault this place is creepy!" Sokka defended, though sounded quite scared. "Why'd you have to tell that story about the demon-alien-thing?!"

"You asked for a scary story, we told you one." Don reminded.

Sokka hung a blanket over his face. "Next thing you know, you're gonna tell me Shredder's been grabbing people in the middle of the night and turning them into monsters."

Don thought for a moment. "You know, that actually did hap…."

"Up, up, up, up!" Sokka quickly interrupted. "I don't wanna hear it! I might never fall asleep again!"

"Well maybe you could…." Don tried, but no sooner than two seconds later, Sokka was out-cold. He snored up a storm as he already began drooling. Don rolled his eyes before he got back to sleep as well.

* * *

 _The Next Morning._

Don was already awake as he put on his hooded-robe; though Sokka was still asleep and somehow ended up on the floor. Don was about to open the door, but found it already open with Hama and Katara at the door.

"Good morning young man."

"Uh yeah… good morning." Don was slightly surprise at how quick she beaten him to the door, and he didn't even hear her coming.

She walked close to the still-sleeping Sokka. "Wakey-wakey. Time to go shopping."

* * *

 _Ten Minutes Later_

The Turtles had their hooded-robes on, and Team Avatar had their Fire Nation clothes on as well as they we're in the town's local market. The hooded Turtles and most of Team Avatar hung in the back while Katara was up ahead with Hama. The later had just finished making a purchase from an elderly man who waved at her.

"That Mr. Yao seems to have a thing for you." Katara observed. "Maybe we should go back and see if he'll give us some free komodo-sausages."

"You would have me use my feminine charm to take advantage of that poor man?" Hama questioned before a playful smile formed on her face. "I think you and I are going to get along swimmingly."

As the group continued walking; the Turtles and the rest of Team Avatar happened to hear a conversation going on near a stand.

"You won't have any ash-bananas till next week?" A customer questioned the merchant.

"Well I'd have to send the boy to Hing-Wan Island to get them and it's a two day trip."

"Oh, right. Tomorrow's the full moon."

"Exactly, I can't loose another delivery boy in the woods."

The group of young heroes heard all this. "Well gang, we got a mystery on our hands." Mikey told the group.

"People disappearing in the woods, weird stuff during full moons, this just reeks of Spirit-World-shenanigans". Sokka said.

"What? An evil spirit decided to make this town his own personal playground?" Raph questioned.

"No Raph, that's not how it works." Aang began to explain. "The Spirits in the Spirit World are connected to the natural environment in our world; if someone defiles it, they spirits will crossover into our world…"

"And let me guess, they end up blaming the people responsible and want to get some payback, correct?" Don assumed.

"Not quite how I would put it, but yeah." Aang replied.

"Well, is it a spirit, Aang?" Leo asked.

Aang shrugged. "I don't know?"

"Seriously?" Mikey questioned. "Aren't you supposed to be the bridge between the two worlds? Don't you have some kind of Avatar-Spirit-Sense or something?"

"Well… not really." Aang answered. "But if we look around town, we'll find out what these people did to the environment to make the spirits mad."

"And once we do find it, we'll beat the living shell out of them." Raph said with a grin as he and Toph high-fived.

"Is it always a fight with you Raph?" Aang asked.

"Hey, it works." Raph replied.

As they talked, Leo was looking towards Hama with Katara. He couldn't quite shake this odd feeling he had of her, call it ninja's intuition or a gut feeling, but something didn't feel quite right about her.

Hama turned around to face the group with Katara. "Why don't you all take those things back to the inn? I just have to run a few more errands, I'll be back in a little while."

Leo walked up close towards Hama. "This is a rather strange town, don't you think?"

Hama maintained her smile, which had a creepy-vibe to it. "A strange town, for strange children."

Hama walked away while Leo and oddly Sokka both looked somewhat suspicious.

* * *

 _Back at the inn._

The group had set down all the groceries in the kitchen area. "That Hama seems a little strange. Like she knows something, or she's hiding something."

"That's ridiculous." Katara protested. "She's a nice woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay. She kind of reminds me of Gran-Gran."

"I hate to say it, but Sokka may have a point." Leo added; earning surprised looks from most of the group. "Yeah, I never thought I hear myself say that either."

"Hey!" Sokka protested.

"What are you talking about Leo?" Aang asked.

"I can't explain it, but there's this… dark sensation I'm getting from her." Leo began. "She's giving off a similar vibe to that of Vopelhart."

"You mean that really old guy who was being mind-controlled by that monster from your story?" Toph recalled.

"The very same." Leo answered.

"But… didn't you say you killed that thing?" Aang questioned.

"Yeah; well I can safely assume that monster isn't behind this; but there's something about Hama I don't trust." Leo told the group.

"Not you to Leo." Katara said. "What about her made you not trust her?"

"Call it a gut feeling."

"Yeah, I agree with Leo." Mikey added, surprising Katara.

"What? You to Mikey?!"

"Rule number twenty-seven of horror movies: the bad guy is always the one you least suspect. Always!" Mikey exclaimed, only to get smacked upside the head by Raph.

"This ain't a scary story Mikey." Raph said. "She's old. How bad can old people get?"

"Isn't your rat-master old?" Toph reminded.

"Guys; this is getting crazy. Hama is a nice person. I can vouch for her." Katara stated.

"You don't even know her." Leo replied. "We only just met her last night."

"Although, that short amount of time doesn't quite give us any evidence to be suspicious of her." Don said.

"Yes, thank you Don." Katara added.

"But what did she mean about that comment 'strange children'?" Sokka questioned.

"Gee, I don't know." Katara began with a sarcastic tone of voice. "Maybe because she found eight strange people camping in the woods at night? And half of the group has to cover their faces all the time? Isn't that a little mysterious."

"She has a point there." Don agreed with Katara.

"Yeah, I gotta go with Katara on this one." Raph added as well.

Leo began to think more for a bit as he still couldn't shake his feeling. Sokka wasn't too convinced by this either.

"I'm gonna take a look around." Sokka began to walk out of the room and up a set of stairs; Leo and Mikey both followed him with the rest of the group close behind.

"Sokka, Leo, Mikey!" Katara protested as the group followed them. "You guys can't just go snooping around someone's house!"

"It'll be fine!" Sokka said as he looked around a hallway. He looked in one room and found nothing. "Besides, these guys break into places all the time." Sokka pointed to the two Turtles near him.

"Well he's not wrong about that." Mikey said.

"But we only do it for the bad guys." Don stated. "And it's usually at night, and we're a lot more quiet than this."

"She's not home." Leo said as he looked in one room. "Look, we'll make this quick, but I can't shake this feeling."

Raph and Toph both grinned a bit. "Ooooh. Goody-to-shoes Leo is turning bad." The red-clad Turtle smirked.

"And you complained about me doing scams." Toph teased, but Leo chose to ignore that as he looked in a closet.

"But she could be home any minute." Aang said, not liking the idea of invading people's privacy.

"Hey, she's old right?" Mikey asked. "Old people always move slowly."

"Master Splinter isn't slow." Don reminded.

"But she's not Master Splinter, is she?" Sokka questioned as he continued to look.

"Guys, you are going to get us all in trouble, and this is just plain rude!" Katara protested.

"We're not finished yet!" Sokka insisted as he tried to open a cabinet that seemed almost locked. But with a heave it came open as multiple puppets popped out; most of the group screamed as even Raph and Leo we're slightly started. Don pulled Sokka out of the way before he pulled out his sword.

"Okay, that's pretty creepy." Aang admitted.

"The puppets." Mikey dreaded. "Just like in that one movie…. The one where the doll comes to life cause he's got the soul of a serial killer inside him!"

"You need to tone down on the horror movies Mikey." Don told him as Raph face-palmed.

Katara, who was also slightly creeped out, put the puppets back and closed the door. "So she's got a hobby, there's nothing wrong about that."

"It could be worse." Raph said. "She could have had actual dead bodies stuffed in there."

Katara looked to Raph with a somewhat disgusted look on her face. "There's something seriously wrong with you." She looked to see Leo with Mikey and Sokka. "Guys, you've looked enough! Hama will be back soon!"

The three of them walked up another set of stairs into the building's attic. Sokka walked towards a door and tried to open it, only to find it locked.

"Just an ordinary puppet-loving inn keeper, huh?" Sokka questioned. "Then why does she have a locked door up here?"

"Maybe to keep smart-asses like you out." Raph told him.

"I'm not a smart-ass!" Sokka protested.

"Yes you are." Toph, Don, Mikey, and even Katara all said at the same time, resulting in Sokka pouting.

Mikey looked through the keyhole and into the room. "I don't see anything except…" He spotted a black box. "A little chest."

Toph gave an excited gasp. "Maybe it's treasure!" Sokka and Mikey both beamed while the rest of the group just looked deadpanned.

Mikey took Sokka's sword and began to try and pick the lock.

"Mikey! You're breaking into a private room!" Katara protested.

"I wanna see what's in that chest." Mikey said. "It could be some kind of evil amulet, or a necklace with people's fingers!"

Aang and Sokka looked somewhat frightened, while Katara just looked disgusted. "Ew! That's gross! Why would you even suggest that?! And please don't say horror movies!"

Mikey was unable to pick the lock; until Leo got down onto the lock and reached into his pocket to pull out a pick and was able to pick the lock in less than a second, opening the door.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Aang said.

"And yet, we're doing it." Don said.

Leo picked up the box. He shook it a bit and listened into it. "There's only one thing in there." Mikey was about to say something as he raised a finger "And it's not body parts." Leo told Mikey who just lowered his finger.

"Well don't leave us hanging! Open it already!" Sokka exclaimed.

"I'm working on it." Leo said as he took out his lock-pick again and began to pick in it, but it was a bit more effort this time.

"Come on! Come on!" Mikey and Sokka insisted at the same time.

"Its not easy to work with you guys breathing down my neck." Leo replied as Katara looked nervously down from the blue-clad Turtle's shoulder.

Aang was also a bit nervous. "Guys I don't know about this."

"Hey, we already made it this far." Raph said, deciding to go along with it.

"Even I'm getting curious at this point." Don agreed

Katara wasn't in agreement however. "This is crazy. I'm leaving!"

"Suit yourself, do it Leo!" Sokka told him as Katara began to leave.

Leo was able to unlock it. "Got it." The whole group hovered over Leo, much to his annoyance, as he was about to open it.

"I'll tell you what's in the box."

The entire group was greatly startled as they turned around to find Hama in the doorway.

"Toph! Why didn't you say anything!?" Mikey questioned.

"Hey, it's a _wooden_ floor!" She harshly replied as she punched his arm.

"Ow!" Mikey rubbed his arm.

" _That's twice she snuck up on us._ " Raph thought to himself. _"Maybe Leo and the others are onto something about her."_

Hama walked into the room as Leo handed her the box. She opened it, and the group watched, almost dramatically, as she revealed the box's contents: a small blue comb.

"An old comb?!" Sokka, Mikey, and Raph questioned at the same time.

"Well wasn't that anti-climatic?" Don stated sarcastically.

"It's my greatest treasure." Hama revealed. "It's the last thing I owned growing up in the Southern Water Tribe."

That revelation caught the entire group by complete surprise; even the Turtles didn't see this coming, evident by their wide-eyes. But none we're more surprised than Katara and Sokka.

"You're from the Southern Water Tribe?!" Katara questioned in surprise.

"Just like you." Hama replied with a smile.

"How did you know?" Katara asked once more.

"I heard you talking around your campfire." Hama answered. "You and your big Turtle friends."

If the Turtles weren't surprised before, they were now. They all lowered their hoods to reveal their green faces with their ninja-masks. "You… you knew?" Leo stuttered.

"Yes, I heard your stories around your campfire." Hama said. "I'm sorry for eavesdropping. And do not worry I won't say a word, who would believe me anyway?"

Don smiled. "Thanks, we appreciate that."

"But why didn't you tell us you we're from the Southern Water Tribe?" Sokka questioned.

"I wanted to surprise you." Hama answered. "I bought all this food so I can fix you all up a big Water Tribe dinner. Of course I can't get all the ingredients I need here but, ocean kumquats are a lot like sea prunes if you stew them long enough."

Aang looked slightly grossed out. "Great." He muttered sarcastically.

"I knew I felt a bond with you right away." Katara said with a smile.

"And I knew you we're keeping a secret, so I guess we're both right." Sokka added with a smart-aleck smile only to get punched by both Katara and Raph.

"Don't be a smart-ass Sokka." Raph said.

Leo walked up. "Hama, we're sorry for sneaking around."

"Yeah, with us being you know… giant turtles and all… we need to be extra careful." Mikey added.

"Apology accepted." Hama said with a smile. "And as I said before, I won't say a word about any of you. Now lets get cooking."

* * *

 _Later that evening_

After Aang had given Appa some food he returned to the dinning room where everyone was sitting down as Hama was laying out the food for everyone to eat.

"I'd stay clear of the sea prunes." Aang whispered to Raph.

"I thought they we're ocean kumquats." Raph whispered back.

"Close enough."

"Who wants five-flavor-soup?" Hama offered.

"Oh I do!" Mikey raised his hand excitedly.

"Have you even had it before?" Toph questioned.

"No, but I had pizza with five different toppings on it. How different could it be?" Mikey replied.

What Hama did next, no one was expecting. She raised her hand, and the soup began to lift out of the large bowl in front of her. She flexed her hand and the soup split into eight small streams and went into everyone's bowls. Every human and Turtle looked surprised at this, while Katara had a look of excitement.

"No way." Don gasped in surprise.

"You're a Waterbender!" Katara elatedly exclaimed. "I've never met another Waterbender from our tribe!"

Hama looked down in sorrow. "That's because the Fire Nation whipped them all out. I was the last one."

"If you're from the South Pole, how did you end up all the way out here?" Leo asked.

"I was stolen from my home."

* * *

 _Flashback_

A much younger Hama with long brown hair had a happy smile as she stood in her blue Water Tribe clothes in a Southern Water Tribe village.

" _It was over sixty years ago when the raids started."_

The young Hama walked towards another woman, who was in fact Katara and Sokka's future grand-mother Kana, and Hama's apparent best friend as the two smiled and shared a laugh. But all joy vanished when they saw black snow beginning to fall from the sky. It was soot. Hama could only look in horror.

She and Kana both ran up to the top of the wall that surrounded their village. They both looked towards the sea where they saw several Fire Nation ships entering their territory.

Fireballs immediately fell on the city as Fire Nation soldiers all began to march onto the land and begin attacking. Firebenders we're on the attack, but the tribe's Waterbenders came to their home's defense and we're able to put up a good fight. However, their efforts we're in vain as every Waterbender spotted we're entangled in nets and dragged off.

Hama tried to fight as well and was able to slice through any net that came at her.

" _They came again and again. Each time rounding up more and more of our Waterbenders and taking them captive."_

Hama watched as the captured Waterbenders we're dragged off in their nets by their Firebending captors.

Hama and all the remaining Waterbenders continued to fight; and even managed to take down a Fire Nation ship, trapping it in the ice.

" _We did our best to hold them off, but our numbers dwindled as the raids continued."_

More and more Waterbenders continued to vanish. Hama would continue to fight, until she found herself surrounded by at least a hundred Firebenders. She couldn't hope to win, so she surrendered.

" _Finally, I to was captured. I was lead away in chains. The last Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe"_

Hama's hands we're chained as Fire Nation soldiers forced her onto their ship. She looked to the teary eyed Kana, her best friend, one last time. Hama's eyes filled with tears as the door closed and she lost all hope.

* * *

 _End Flashback_

Most of the group looked to Hama in sympathy at the end of her tale, even Raph's face softened, though he had a great deal of anger towards the Fire Nation as he clenched his fists. Katara walked towards Hama and put her hands on Hama's shoulders in comfort.

"They put us in terrible prisons here in the Fire Nation. I was the only one who managed to escape."

"How did you get away?" Sokka asked.

"And why stay here in the Fire Nation? Why not just go back home?" Don asked as well.

"I'm sorry… it's too painful to talk about anymore." Hama didn't answer, something Leo noticed.

"We completely understand." Katara told her, referring to herself and her brother. "We lost our mother in a raid."

"Oh, you poor things." Hama patted Katara's hand in comfort.

It was once again silent. Aang, Sokka, Mikey, Don, even Toph, all looked down in sympathy. Raph was clearly angry still with the Fire Nation, but choose not to say anything. Leo couldn't help but notice something in the tone of Hama's voice as she told her story. Something just seemed rather… _off_ about her, especially when she didn't reveal why she chose to stay in the Fire Nation.

Katara had a humble smile on her face. "I can't tell what it means to met you, it's an honor. You're a hero."

Hama smiled as well. "I never thought I'd meet another Southern Waterbender. I'd like to teach you what I know so that you could carry on the Southern tradition when I'm gone."

Katara had an elated smile on her face. "Yes! Yes of course! To learn about my heritage, it would mean everything to me." She made a respectful bow, while Hama smiled. But Leo noticed a little spark in Hama's eye. It wasn't an optimistic spark or anything like that, it was something else.

* * *

 _The Next Day_

Hama was leading Katara through the outskirts of the small town onto a small rocky landscape as she began to teach her newly appointed pupil what she knew.

"Growing up in the South Pole, Waterbenders are totally at home surrounded by ice, and snow, and seas. But as you noticed on your travels, that isn't the case wherever you go."

"I know. When we we're stranded in the desert, I felt like there was almost nothing I could do." Katara admitted as they walked into a forested area.

"That's why you have to learn to control water wherever it exists." Hama said.

"I even used my own sweat for Waterbending." Katara recalled. "The Turtles are even teaching me some hand-to-hand combat, just in case I can't use any water."

"That's very resourceful Katara." Hama told her. "And learning other ways of combat and self-defense can also be very helpful. But did you know you could even pull water out of thin air?"

Katara was a bit surprised as Hama began to motion with her hands, drawing upon the oxygen and hydrogen molecules in the air, creating water, which she bent around her fingers.

"You've got to keep an open mind Katara." Hama said as the water around her fingers began to freeze. "There's water in places you never think about."

She threw the ice-blades from her fingers to a tree and they impacted from the sharp ends. Katara couldn't help but look excited.

What Katara and Hama didn't appear to notice; was from a far tree, Leo and Mikey both hung in the branches in the shadows watching the whole thing.

"She's very talented." Leo observed. "Her method however seems…."

"Creepy?" Mikey finished for Leo. "I get she's from the same place as Katara, but there's still something about Hama that creeps me out, even more than Azula. And that's saying something."

"Yeah, I can't shake the same feeling myself." Leo agreed. "Something's off with Hama. Though I'm a bit surprised that you decided to watch her with me."

"Dude Leo, Katara's like my sister. I know she can take care of herself but… I just don't trust Hama around her, that's all." Mikey explained.

"I agree, she's like a sister to me to." Leo replied. "And while her heart is in the right place, she can be a little naïve sometimes and let her emotions cloud her judgment; both positive and negative alike."

"That's why we're here." Mikey said. "If something goes wrong, we'll be here to back her up."

"Got that right."

While Leo and Mikey we're both keeping a very close eye on Katara and Hama; there was a third party watching over the whole scene, the very same individuals who had been watching the entire group during their travels in the Fire Nation. Two Foot Ninja we're watching the whole scene from at least three kilometers away with a pair of advanced binoculars on top a rocky cliff.

"They appear to be making great time." One Foot ninja spoke. "The day of the invasion is nearing and they are almost at their destination."

"Indeed." The second ninja agreed. "Yet, we may have stumbled onto something quite interesting."

"The old Waterbender?"

"Yes. The Turtles appear to notice something about her as well. If they're suspicious, it must be for a reason."

"Then let us continue to observe, and perhaps this Hama could be of use to the Master."

* * *

 _Elsewhere_

Raph and Don (both wearing their hooded robes) choose to help Aang, Toph, and Sokka try to find the reason behind people's disappearances. They we're going along with Aang's spirit theory and decided to take a look at the natural environment around the town. At the moment, they we're looking over a lush forested landscape.

"Hmmm." Don rubbed his chin as he looked around. "We've looked all over. There's no factories, no military bases, no pollution; not like any of the last places we've been to."

"You're right." Aang agreed. "This has got to be the nicest natural setting in the Fire Nation, I don't see anything that would make a spirit mad around here."

"Maybe the Moon Spirit just decided to go psycho-crazy on us." Raph suggested.

Sokka, who had been sniffing the flowers, didn't like that comment. "The Moon Spirit is a gentle loving lady! She rules the sky with compassion! And… lunar goodness!"

The group just looked at Sokka with odd expressions. "Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way." Don mused.

"What are you talking about D?" Toph asked.

"If spirits in this world are connected to the environment like Aang says, and given how there isn't any sing of pollution or anything like we've seen in that fishing village, then maybe the spirits aren't the ones responsible for this." Don guessed.

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked.

"I'm just thinking that maybe there are others responsible for this. Certain people who can blend in at night and stick to the shadows." Don hinted.

"You think the Foot are behind this?" Raph questioned.

"Well I wouldn't put it past them." Don replied. "They have abducted people before."

"But why would the Foot just snatch random people?" Aang asked. "I mean its like you said, there's no military bases here or anything. I don't think anyone important lives here; and I thought the Foot we're helping the Fire Nation."

"Shredder is only interested in helping himself." Raph replied. "And the Foot don't really need a reason to do any of the crap they do. This one time; they grabbed a bunch of random guys off the streets back in New York and mutated them into monsters so they can dig underground and try to find the Utroms."

That caught Aang, Toph, and Sokka by surprise. "Wait, are you guys serious?" Sokka questioned. "The Foot can turn people into monsters?!"

"Mutants, yes." Don confirmed. "We've met those mutants almost a year ago, but that's a long story."

"I can see why you guys would think the Foot are behind this; but why do it only during the full moon?" Aang asked. "If they're as good as you say, wouldn't they just grab the people they need anytime they want?"

"Yeah, you're right." Don realized.

Raph turned and noticed a man walking by. He walked up towards him. "Hey buddy!" Raph called out. "You know anything about people vanishing at night during the full moon?"

The man began to think. "Only one man was ever able to escape being taken. And that's Old Man Ding."

"Where does Old Man Ding live?" Toph asked as she pulled down on his sleeve.

* * *

Leo and Mikey hung back in the trees at the forest where they we're able to silently watch Katara and Hama as the two Waterbenders entered a field of red flowers.

"Wow, these flowers are beautiful." Katara awed at them.

"They're called Fire Lilies." Hama said. "They only bloom a few weeks a year, but they're one of my favorite things about living here. And like all plants, and all living things, they're filled with water."

"I met a Waterbender who lived in a swamp and could control the vines by bending the water inside." Katara remembered.

"You can take it even further." Hama revealed. She waved her arms in a circle, and as she waved she bent the water out of the red flowers around them, something Leo and Mikey noticed in surprise. The flowers died once all the water was removed. Hama then created a series of water-blades that sliced through a thick pillar of stone.

Mikey grimaced at the sliced stone while Leo took notice of the hostility that was shown there. Katara seemed much more excited however.

"That was incredible!" She looked down at the flowers and her smile faded. "It's a shame about the lilies though."

"They're just flowers." Hama dismissed. "When you're a Waterbender in a strange land, you do what you must to survive." Hama placed a hand on Katara's shoulder and brought her close. "Tonight, I'll teach you the ultimate technique of Waterbending. It can only be done during the full moon, when you're bending is at its peak."

Katara seemed a bit nervous. "But isn't that dangerous? I thought people around here have been disappearing during the full moon."

Hama didn't seem nervous at all. "Oh Katara, two master Waterbenders beneath a full moon? I don't think we have anything to worry about."

Hama continued to lead Katara away; while Leo and Mikey looked towards each other from the spot they we're at, having heard it all.

"Okay, yeah something's definitely off." Mikey said.

"People disappear during a full moon, which _coincidentally_ is also when a Waterbender is at their strongest." Leo said. "Why do I get the feeling Hama hasn't told us the full story of why she hasn't left here?"

* * *

 _Later that night_

Raph, Aang, Don, Toph, and Sokka we're walking through the village as night had fallen. They came up to the house of a certain old man. Said old man was trying to nail boards to his window, he was about to hammer one nail in when suddenly…

"Yo! Old Man Ding!" Raph called.

"Huh?" Old Man Ding accidentally bashed his fingers with his hammer. "Dang namit! What?!" He questioned to the group of young heroes in front of him. "Can't you see I'm busy?! Got a full moon rising! And why does everyone call me that, I'm not that old!"

Old Man Ding tried to lift up his fallen board, but it wasn't budging. "Well, I'm young at heart!"

"Sure you are." Raph muttered as Toph snickered.

Don and Aang both helped Old Man Ding get the board up and nailed it to the window.

"Not ready to get snapped up by some moon monster yet at least!" Old Man Ding stated.

"We wanted to ask you about that." Sokka said.

"Did you get a good look at the spirit that took you?" Aang asked.

"Or if it we're someone else? Like maybe some people dressed in black perhaps?" Don asked as well.

"Didn't see no spirit or men in black." Old Man Ding replied. "Just felt something come over me, like I was possessed."

"What do you mean by 'possessed'?" Raph asked.

"Something forced me to walking toward the mountain!" Old Man Ding continued as he pointed to the large mountain outside the village with the group listening to him closely. "I tried to fight it…" Old Man Ding waved his fists for emphasis. "But I couldn't control my own limbs! It just about had me into a cave up there! And I looked up at the moon, for what I thought would be my last glimpse of light."

As Aang, Don, Raph, and Toph continued to pay close attention, Sokka was getting nervous as his knees began to shake.

"But then, the sun started to rise, and I got control of myself again!" Old Man Ding continued. "I just high-tailed-it away from that mountain as quick as I could!"

"Why would spirits drag people to a mountain?" Raph wondered until it hit him. "Wait a minute… Toph!

"You're right!" Toph agreed with Raph, getting the group's attention. "I _did_ hear people screaming under the mountain! The missing villagers must still be there!"

They all looked towards the mountain and knew exactly what to do next.

* * *

Toph led the group through the forest with Aang, Sokka, Don, and Raph close behind her. Toph was using her Seismic Sense to guide them.

"Which way kid?" Raph asked as Toph stopped to feel the ground.

"I can hear them, there this way!" Toph continued to lead them closer and closer to the mountain.

* * *

Leo and Mikey both hung close from the branches in the treetops. Even though they we're concealed in the shadows, they could see the eerie white glow of the full moon, something that creeped Mikey out, even more so when they both looked down to where Hama and Katara we're.

"Can you feel the power the full moon brings?" Hama asked Katara behind her. Hama stood in its light and felt the power surge in her. She inhaled and was even able to stand up right.

"For generations it has blessed Waterbenders with its glow." As she talked, Katara and even the concealed Turtles notice the veins in her arms bulge. "Allowing us to do incredible things! I've never felt more alive!"

* * *

 _Base of the mountain_

Toph had led Raph, Sokka, Don, and Aang to a cave at the very base of the mountain, and it was pitch black.

"You sure this is it Toph?" Don asked.

"One-hundred-percent positive." Toph confirmed.

"I can't see anything down there." Sokka looked down into the darkness.

"Don and I are ninjas, remember?" Raph reminded. "We're used to the shadows."

"Plus you guys got me." Toph said as she took both Sokka and Aang's hands; jumping down into the cave while the two Ninja Turtles followed them in.

The group came to a metal door with two lit torches on the sides. Raph and Don immediately pulled out their respective weapons.

"Okay, we don't know what we're dealing with here. Prepare yourselves for the worst." Don said as he readied his staff.

"Oh, I'm ready!" Raph declared as he twirled the sais. "Toph, why don't you knock?"

Toph nodded as she readied her Metalbending. She felt along the door with two punches before punching it clean off the hinges. Aang and Sokka grabbed the torches from the side and walked into the dark room. The group looked in surprise at what they saw with the lit torches.

"What the shell?" Raph breathed.

At least two-dozen people we're all in chains; chained to the walls of the cavern room and the pillars. Men and women, old and young alike. Some look like they've been in this place for days, maybe even weeks.

"We're saved!" A man exclaimed.

Toph took off her meteor-bracelet and Metalbent it into a pick to pick the locks while Raph got to work to cut the chains with his sais.

"I didn't know spirits made prisons like this." Aang said. "Who brought you all here?"

"It was no spirit." A woman stated as Raph cut the chains that held her in place.

"It was a witch!" A man added.

This caught the group's attention. "What do you mean by 'witch'?" Don asked.

"She seems like a normal old woman." The woman before began. "But she controls people like some dark Puppetmaster."

That's when it hit them. "Hama!" Raph and Sokka exclaimed at the same time.

"Yes! The Innkeeper!" Another prisoner confirmed.

"Leo was right about her!" Don exclaimed.

"I was right to!" Sokka added.

"We have to stop Hama!" Aang exclaimed.

"No duh kid." Raph added.

"I'll get these people out of here. You guys all go ahead!" Toph told her friends as Raph, Sokka, Aang, and Don all ran out of the cave.

As they ran through the cave; Don thought of something. "Guys hold on."

"Hold on!?" Sokka questioned.

"Don, we got a psycho old hag on the loose! What would we be holding on for?!" Raph questioned as well.

"Have you guys ever wondered how she was able to do all this?" Don told them. "How could she have kidnapped all these people?"

"I don't know." Aang replied.

"No, remember what Old Man Ding told us?" Don recalled. "He felt something possess him. And that one prisoner says Hama controls people."

"Maybe some kind of hypnosis?" Raph wondered.

"No, Old Man Ding wasn't hypnotized, he knew what was going on around him." Don continued to think. "Hama's a Waterbender right? And the people all vanish during the full moon. Sokka, didn't you say Waterbenders are at their strongest during the full moon?"

"Yeah, that's what Katara told me." Sokka confirmed.

Don began to think until his eyes widened. "That's it! That's how she's done it!"

"What?" Aang asked.

"When Hama's Waterbending is at its peek during the full moon, she is able to bend the water inside a human being!" Don stated.

Raph, Aang, and Sokka we're caught by complete surprise at this. "WHAT?!" They all yelled at the same time

"How is that possible?!" Aang questioned.

"The human body is seventy-percent water." Don began. "She can bend the water inside a human's body and literally make them her puppets. They'll do anything she wants them to do!"

"That is messed up on so many levels." Raph said. "And I thought Firebenders we're crazy."

"But we still have to stop Hama!" Aang insisted.

"Yeah, but we can't rush into this!" Don told him. "If we just run up to her, she'll bend the water inside us and make us her puppets!"

"Then how do we stop her?" Sokka questioned.

Don looked at them with a serious look. "By not fighting like benders, but by fighting like ninjas. From the shadows."

* * *

Leo and Mikey continued to listen from their hiding spot, along with Katara, as Hama began to speak and reveal more of her story.

"What I'm about to show you, I discovered in that wretched Fire Nation prison."

* * *

 _Flashback_

A younger Hama was seen in a suspended cell wearing ragged clothes with a face that was completely void of hope.

" _The guards were always careful to keep any water away from us. They piped in dry air and had us suspended away from the ground."_

Hama's hands and feet we're chained and restrained as a guard extended via stick a small bowl of water into her cage, which she was forced to lap like an animal.

" _Before giving us any water, they would bind our hands and feet so we couldn't bend. Any sign of retribution was met with cruel retribution."_

Young Hama looked to a small skylight in the prison towards the full moon.

" _And yet each month, I could feel the full moon enriching me with its energy. There had to be something I could do to escape. That's when I realized that wherever there is life, there is water."_

A couple of rats ran all along the chains of the cage that kept it suspended in the air and into Hama's cell.

" _The rats that scurried across the floor of my cage we're nothing more than skins filled with liquid."_

A rat came up close towards Hama. She thrusted her palm forward and began to bend the water inside the rat and even made it stand up on its hind legs.

" _And I passed years developing the skill that would lead to my escape…"_

* * *

 _Reality_

"…Bloodbending."

Leo looked in surprise at this, Mikey had an expression to show just how freaked out he was. Katara's expression was one of almost horror as her pupils shrunk.

"Controlling the water in another body, enforcing your own will over theirs."

* * *

 _Resume Flashback_

Hama had managed to successfully Bloodbend all the rats in her cage into being her puppets.

" _Once I had mastered the rats, I was ready for the men."_

A Fire Nation guard was walking down the walkway of the prison has Hama performed her Bloodbending on him. He was unable to move as he stiffened up. His arm was forced to his side where the keys we're attached to his belt. Hama dragged his entire body to her cell where she had him insert the key to her cell and unlock it. The guard was then forced to the ground with the cell door open.

" _And during the next full moon, I walked free for the first time in decades."_

Hama walked out, when the guard tried to get up, she used Bloodbending to force his head onto the ground before walking away.

" _My cell unlocked by the same guards assigned to keep me in."_

* * *

 _Reality_

Hama had finished telling her story. "Once you perfect this technique, you can control anything. Or any _one._ "

Mikey could only shudder. "Dude Leo… that is all kinds of messed up."

"Mikey for once I completely agree with you."

Katara also had similar feelings as well. "But to reach inside somebody and control them? I… don't know if I want that kind of power."

"The choice is not yours." Hama began; causing both Leo and Mikey to glare from their hiding spots. "The power exists! And its your duty to use the gifts you've been given to win this war!"

"Just who the shell does she think she is?" Mikey gritted his teeth in contempt while Leo glared.

"Katara, they tried to wipe us out! Our entire culture! You're mother!" Hama insisted; the mention of Katara's mother really struck a nerve in the Turtles.

"I know." Katara replied.

"Then you should understand what I'm talking about!" Hama stated. "We're the last Waterbenders of the Southern Tribe! We have to fight these people however we can, wherever they are, by whatever means necessary!"

Realization hit Leo and Mikey instantly; and the same for Katara as well. "It's you! You're the one who's making people disappear during the full moons!"

"They threw me in prison to rot!" Hama stated in contempt and hatred. "Along with my brothers and sisters. They deserve the same." Her face turned into a twisted and maniacal grin. "You must carry on my work!"

"This hag is more crazy than Azula!" Mikey whispered to Leo.

"You know, it's not polite to call your elders insane." Hama called out; earning a surprised look from the Turtles as well as Katara. "Why don't you two come out of the shadows and step into the light!"

"What?" Katara breathed.

Hama threw her hands outward to the right; causing Leo and Mikey's bodies to both stiffen as she used Bloodbending to throw them down from the branches hard onto the ground.

"Guys!" Katara exclaimed as she tried to run towards them, but Hama already had Mikey up on his feet and motioned for her grab Katara in the form of a tight bear hug.

"How… how did you…?" Leo struggled as Hama forced him onto his feet.

"Being a Bloodbender does more than just let me bend the water in a person's body." Hama explained with a twisted grin. "I can sense the blood in any living creature around me during the full moon. I felt your presence the moment the moon's power began to course through my veins!"

Leo struggled as he attempted to move. "Don't bother struggling." Hama told him as she held him tight. "Its impossible for you to fight your way out of my grip! I control every muscle, every vein in your body!"

She motioned for Leo's body to twist, causing some pain as he grunted. "Leo!" Katara exclaimed with worry as Hama controlled Leo with one hand, and maintained Mikey's stance with her other, forcing him to maintain his grip on Katara.

"Let him go you freak!" Mikey angrily exclaimed.

"Respect your elders, turtle!" Hama scowled as she continued to twist Leo. Hama laughed as she continued to twist him. Leo then went for a different tactic. He closed his eyes and instead of struggling, he allowed himself to relax as he focused.

He remembered what Master Splinter had taught him. Leo focused his chi and was able to break free of Hama's grip. Evident as he drew one of his katanas and threw it at Hama; who was able to duck but couldn't believe what she saw.

Not only was Leo free, but also the distraction was enough for Mikey to break free and let go of Katara.

"How… how did you break free?! It's impossible!" Hama exclaimed as Leo drew his other sword.

"Years of training." Leo replied. "You're reign of terror in this village ends now!"

Leo ran toward Hama, with his sword at the ready. But before he could strike, Hama quickly used Bloodbending to pull Katara in front of her. Leo's eyes widened as he stopped dead in his tracks, his sword almost an inch from Katara's face.

Hama's twisted smile formed as she used Bloodbending on Mikey behind Leo. "Leo! Look out!" Mikey warned as he was forced to run towards Leo, but he was able to jump high and do a back flip over Mikey.

Hama controlled Mikey with one hand as he made him run towards his brother and motioned for several punches and kicks, which Leo was able to avoid.

"You really should have learned the technique Katara." Hama told her captive. "But instead, you'll be the instrument in your friends' death." Hama forced her onto the ground, close to the sword that Leo attempted to throw at Hama and forced her to grab it in her hand.

Hama then thrusted her hand forward, sending Katara screaming and flying towards Leo, pointing the sword at him with the intent on stabbing him. Leo however was quickly able to block it with his remaining sword, but this gave Hama an opening to force Mikey to kick Leo in the abs.

"Sorry bro!"

Leo was sent to a tree and Katara forced in front of him. "Leo… I can't… I can't stop!" Tears welled up in her eyes as Hama laughed. She forced Katara to raise the hand with Leo's katana in it with the intention of cutting him down.

"You're a Waterbender to Katara." Leo told her. "You're strong! Use your own will! Fight back!"

As Katara heard this, she remembered some of the lessons Leo and the other Turtles taught her and Aang a few weeks ago. _"Patient, persistent, water finds a way around. Eventually wearing down any obstacle in its path."_

" _Go with the flow. Let the other dude waste his energy."_

Katara's desperate look faded into one of determination. "Okay guys, I hear you loud and clear." She allowed the full moon's power to flow into her body. With that, she lowered her stance and dropped Leo's sword. She turned to Hama with a glare who could only look in surprise, so much so she even lost her grip around Mikey.

"You're not the only one who draws power from the moon Hama." Katara stated as she bent the water out of the grass and trees around her and sent a powerful stream towards Hama; who while still able to block it, it allowed the freed Leo and Mikey to jump through a splash of water and land a couple of hard kicks on Hama, sending her rolling across the ground.

Leo picked up his swords as Mikey drew his nunchucks and they stood by Katara's side. "A river faces many obstacles." Katara told Hama as she got back up and took a Waterbending stance. "But patient persistent water always finds a way around, eventually wearing down any obstacle in its path."

She bent a ring of water around her and sent it towards Hama; who was able to catch it and throw it back at Katara, but this allowed Mikey to come in close from the right and smack his left nunchuck across her face; sending her stumbling back towards Leo who went on the offensive with many katana slashes. Hama was able to block it however with an ice-shield she quickly created from the water in the grass below her. While Leo distracted her; Katara used her water to slam a bullet into Hama sending her sliding back.

"Must be hard to Bloodbend with a split focus, huh?" Leo said as he attempted to slice at Hama, but she created a water-whip, which she flung at Leo, but he was able to slice through it. Mikey tried to come at her from behind; but she created a large water-ring around her to block the nunchuck-strikes. This let Katara bend the ring around Hama, which she pulled away from her and sent it hard at Hama. Hama blocked it with a palm thrust; but Leo landed a kick from behind and Mikey struck her with an x-strike from his weapons right at her face; knocking her down.

Leo looked behind him when he heard footsteps and saw Raph, Aang, Sokka, and Don coming onto the scene. He was about to warn them, but Don gave a look that said he knew what to do.

"Aang, create a smokescreen!" Don told the young monk.

"Got it!" Aang thrusted his hands to the ground and used Earthbending to create a mild tremor to pick up a large cloud of dust around Hama as she stood up. The dust blinded her temporarily and entered her mouth, forcing her to cough.

As the dust enveloped her; Leo pulled Katara into the trees surrounding the area as Mikey hopped into the woods with them. Don, Raph, Sokka, and Aang all scattered into the forest as well.

"Hama can't use her technique if she's distracted!" Leo called out to his friends. "Hit and run attacks! Don't let her catch you!"

Hama had enough and was able to bend more water out of the grass below her to clear away the dust cloud surrounding her. When it cleared, she couldn't see anyone.

She scowled. "You think the shadows can hide you?!" She called out, positive that they could all hear her. "I may not be able to see you! But I can still sense your blood!"

"Can you even hear yourself?" Don's voice called out as he quickly ran to her from behind; smacked her with his staff to send her to the ground as he ran back into the forest.

"You sound like some kind of vampire!" Raph's voice called out to Hama who struggled to get up. As she tried to get up, her line of vision caught Raph running right at her. She couldn't react in time as he delivered a knee to her jaw to send her into the air as he vanished.

Hama's face scowled even further. "You call yourselves heroes!" she called out. "How can you defend the Fire Nation!"

"We're protecting innocent people!" Aang's voice called out as he used Airbending to accelerate his speed that even Hama couldn't anticipate He was almost a blur as he ran past and clipped Hama, causing her to fall once again

"'Innocent'?!" Hama shrieked in disbelief and anger. "You call the same monsters that tried to destroy us all innocent?!"

"Don't act like you're the victim here lady!" Raph's voice called out again. He and Mikey both ran out of the forest from opposite points and nailed Hama in a cross-attack as they both vanished again.

"You may have been through a lot, but its no excuse for what you've done!" Sokka's voice called out. She looked in one direction as she saw an object coming towards her; it was Sokka's boomerang. It hit her across the face as it curved and disappeared back in the forest as Sokka caught it.

"They are responsible for the deaths of millions and a hundred years of pan and torment!" Hama retorted, getting back up again. "They deserve no less than a painful and agonizing death!"

"Then how are you different from them?!" Mikey called out.

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Hama shrieked insanely as she bent all the water she could from the plants around her and sent a massive storm of razor-sharp ice into the forest around her.

This attack forced most of the group to scatter to avoid being hit; but she failed to notice Leo leaping high above her. A shadow loomed over as she looked up with wide-eyes to see Leo coming down at her. With a slash from his swords, she fell to the ground.

Hama struggled to get up when she noticed a pair of feet in front of her. She looked up to a glaring Katara. "Bloodbend this." Katara pulled back a fist and punched her across the face, knocking Hama out.

"Nice finishing move quip." Mikey congratulated as everyone else walked out of the forest.

* * *

A few moments later, Toph had led the all the missing villagers to the area where the battle had taken place. The Turtles had their hoods up once again as they and Team Avatar watched as Hama was being placed in chains.

"There's a storm coming." Hama warned, looking back at the young group of heroes. "Its time to choose a side."

"You've already made your choice Hama." Leo warned her. "And now you'll live with the consequences."

Hama glared before she turned to Katara. "You'll be seeing me again Katara, I promise!"

The people then began to lead Hama away, leaving the group alone for the moment.

Meanwhile; on top of a small cliff, roughly three kilometers away from the area where the fight took place, the two Foot Ninja had been watching and listening to the whole fight since Hama told her story; and they we're both quite impressed.

"Bloodbending… interesting. Very interesting." One ninja mused.

"Her Waterbending alone is nothing to scoff at; she was able to go on par with the younger Waterbender and two of the Turtles; they we're all force to resort to stealth tactics just to have the advantage. She has a very unique talent." The second ninja observed as well.

"In addition, her hatred for the Fire Nation is also quite interesting. Perhaps she may be of use to us."

* * *

 _The Next Day_

Team Avatar and the Ninja Turtles flew up on Appa in the sky; with Aang providing cloud-cover for the Sky-Bison and his passengers, just now leaving the village. Leo, Katara, and Mikey had finished telling the rest of the group about Hama's story and her technique.

"Bloodbending? That is all kinds of messed up." Toph stated.

"Yeah, the old hag wasn't exactly perfectly sane either." Raph added.

"Hey guys, maybe we should lighten up a little bit, for a certain person riding with us." Mikey advised as they group looked to see Katara looking off the side of the saddle. She may not have seen anything through the cloud cover, but she was deep in thought.

"Katara, are you okay?" Aang asked.

"I was so stupid." Katara began. "How can I not have seen this sooner? You guys we're right."

"It's not your fault Katara, she fooled all of us." Don said.

"Not me." Sokka pointed out. "I knew something was off about her." Raph punched his arm. "Ow!"

"Not helping!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself Katara." Leo told her. "There are a lot of people out there who'll try to take advantage of a person's trust. Shredder even at one point tried to trick me into joining him one time. So I can understand."

Katara looked towards the group. "But… she was a Waterbender… from my home. I just thought… she was someone like me."

"Hama is a self-righteous psychopath." Mikey told her. "You're a good person; you stood your ground against her, a Waterbender from your tribe, to protect a _Fire Nation_ village. She is _nothing_ like you."

Katara gave an honest smile to the group. "Thanks guys."

* * *

 _Small prison_

Hama sat in a dark cell of metal prison, being guarded by two Fire Nation guards. She sat there, her face evident with anger and hatred. For the first time, she was defeated; and what's worse, a Waterbender from her own nation stood against her, and didn't even learn Bloodbending. Was this it? Was she just meant to rot for the rest of her life without passing this skill onto anyone?

Her thoughts we're interrupted with a slight commotion outside. She looked to see the two Fire Nation guards fall over; kunai in each of their necks as they now lay dead on the floor.

She looked outside her cell to see two Foot Ninja, the same who had been watching the Avatar, Turtles, and their friends, come face-to-face with the Bloodbender.

"You are Hama. The Bloodbender of the Southern Water Tribe, correct?" one ninja asked.

Hama scowled slightly. "What of it?"

The second ninja took out his katana and sliced the lock before opening the door, much to Hama's surprise. "The Foot has a proposition for you."

Hama's face turned into a twisted grin. "I'm listening."

 **Done.**

 **I'm sure you all know that in the cannon episode, Katara became a Bloodbender; but since this now involves the Turtles, they specialize at 'outside-the-box' problem solving. They we're able to use their ninjitsu tactics against Hama, and even the members of Team Avatar as they did teach them similar lessons as well. With all that in mind, it made since for me to alter the ending a little bit.**

 **Do not worry though; we will be seeing Hama again. She's not even close to being finished yet.**

 **Only one chapter left till the Day of Black Sun; things are really starting to heat up.**

 **I hope you all like this chapter and I'll be looking forward to the next update. Thank you for your patience.**

 **Cowabunga!**


	22. Nightmares and Daydreams

**Hey everyone. Sorry for the wait, I had finals to take care of for my semester. Now that's done and its time to update once again. Thank you for your patience. This has been a fun chapter that I have been looking forward to writing; I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Also, expect some changes from the cannon Avatar episode as I input some elements from the TMNT 2003 series into it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and thank you for your patience.**

 **Nightmares and Daydreams**

It was nighttime on an island that held no human civilization whatsoever on it. The only inhabitants seemed to be the many sleeping sheep on the grassy hills over the island. A large bush bushelled, as Appa was the first to walk out; followed by Aang, Leo, Katara, Raph, Toph, Mikey, Sokka, and Don.

Don and Sokka both looked at the map to see where they are. "This is it. The official rendezvous point for the Invasion Force." Sokka said.

"How did you pick this place?" Toph asked.

"Before we left, Sokka, Hakoda, Master Splinter and I located this island from the map in the Fire Nation ship we captured." Don answered. "There's no human civilization on the island, it's roughly thirteen miles off the capital's mainland, and it's completely surrounded by cliffs."

"Nice." Mikey said. "Our own private island."

"And considering all the crap we had to go through to get here, I'd say we'd made great timing." Raph pointed out as the group began to set up their sleeping bags.

"Yeah we're here four days ahead of schedule to." Katara pointed out.

"Wait, four days?!" Aang shot up into the air. "The invasion's in four days?!" Aang looked like he was panicking.

Sokka yawned. "Whatever, that's like four days from now. Lets just calm down and…" He immediately dosed off and began snoring as he slept.

"For once I gotta agree with Sokka." Raph pointed out. "Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill kid."

"Raph's right Aang." Leo agreed. "There's nothing more for us to but to get some rest. We're gonna need all the rest we can get."

"They've got the right idea Aang." Katara agreed as well. "We're here, we're ready."

With that, most of the group had lied down on their sleeping pads to get the aforementioned rest they needed; though Aang still looked a bit unconvinced.

"I guess."

Aang then lied down on the grassy ground and let sleep take hold as he closed his eyes.

However, what none of them even noticed, a few kilometers away from the island, we're the two Foot Ninja who had been following them, watching them through binoculars as they sat on their jet-skis in the water. One Foot Ninja pulled out his communications device.

"Master Shredder, the Turtles and their allies have arrived at they're destination." The Foot Ninja informed. "Four days ahead of there intended schedule, and they will wait till the Day of Black Sun before they move."

" _Excellent."_ Oroku Saki replied over the comn device. _"Return to base. We need to make sure all final preparations have been made."_

"Yes Master." The Foot Ninja replied before he and his partner turned on their jet-skis and rode back towards the Fire Nation Capital.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se_

Those two Foot Ninja we're not the only ones watching the Turtles and the Avatar. Within the underground tunnels underneath Ba-Sing-Se, within the Foot Mystic Shrine, there was a pool of water in the corner of the chamber. Five individuals surrounded the pool showed the image of the sleeping Turtles and Team Avatar as the pool.

Each of the five individuals we're garbed in ancient Japanese armor and held staffs, but there was something unique about each of them. One of them wore orange armor with red clothes underneath, and it appeared that his armor had flames on it as he carried a red staff; he was the Foot Fire Mystic. The second one's armor was aqua blue and it appeared his armor was completely wet as he had aqua green clothes underneath and held an aqua green staff; he was the Foot Water Mystic. The third had white armor and sky blue clothes underneath as he held a white staff; he was the Foot Wind Mystic. The fourth one wore brown armor that appeared to be made out of clay and dirt, he had dark brown clothes underneath and held a brown staff; he was the Foot Earth Mystic. The last one had armor that appeared to be made out of silver steel with dark blue clothes underneath as he held a silver staff; he was the Foot Metal Mystic.

The five Mystic Ninjas looked into the pool as they too had been spying and learning much of this new world they we're in.

"This world is very different from the one we are familiar with." The Water Mystic spoke.

"Indeed." The Wind Mystic agreed. "Many individuals in this world can control the elements through their bending arts, similar to us."

"Though they are not nearly as powerful as we are." The Earth Mystic said. "We hold power in our hands that none of these benders can hope to comprehend."

"Bending abilities or not, they are still human." The Metal Mystic pointed out. "And these humans aren't any less inferior than the ones from our world."

"Agreed." The Fire Mystic agreed as well. "They are an arrogant species who believe themselves the dominant creatures, they continue to fight and slaughter each other for their own petty greed and lust for power, the benders being the most arrogant. Yet, the reptiles for some reason believe this world is worth fighting for."

"While benders are foolish, there is something of this Avatar that is more intriguing." The Water Mystic said as the pool's image showed the sleeping Aang.

"His power is far greater than the other benders on this planet." The Earth Mystic said.

"He not only controls all the elements, but there is a spiritual power that lies deep within." The Wind Mystic said as well.

"Indeed, there are more secrets within that boy than even he knows. Secrets that could potentially be of use to us." The Fire Mystic stated. "Let us see what makes the Avatar so special."

"If he does posses a strong spiritual power, then I would advise against diving directly into his mind." The Metal Mystic advised. "He could sense our presence, which could alert the Turtles to the Shredder's intended plan."

"Then let us distract his mind." The Fire Mystic replied.

"Yes." The Earth Mystic agreed. "The seed of fear has been planted in him. And fear is easy to manipulate."

"After all, every human has nightmares." The Wind Mystic seemed to agree as well.

"Then, let us begin. Let us learn more of this Avatar." The Water Mystic said.

With that; the Five Mystics surrounded the circular pool that showed the image of the sleeping Aang. They held their staffs over the pool as the ends of their staffs met in the center. The Fire staff glowed red as the Water staff glowed aqua green, the Wind staff glowed white, the Metal staff glowed blue, and the Earth staff glowed orange as the colors met in the center into a white beam and shot into the pool of water.

* * *

 _Aang's Dream_

Aang broke down a steel door bearing the Fire Nation insignia. The young Avatar was dressed in a yellow and orange kung-fu robe with a white headband showing his air-nomad tattoo, and he had spiky black hair.

He jumped into the cave that held floating pillars to face a large figure that had his back to the Avatar.

"You're days of tyranny are over Fire Lord! I'm bringing you down!" Aang declared. The figure didn't turn around, much to Aang's confusion. "Uh… Mr. Fire Lord?"

"The Fire Lord is not here."

The figure turned around to reveal to Aang's horror was the one person whom he feared even more. A gigantic version of the steel-armored, razor-sharp foe, the Shredder.

"You fell right into my hands, boy. And now, you will die!" The giant Shredder raised his clawed gauntlet and brought it down on the ground where Aang stood. The ground crumbled around him as he fell into darkness, screaming as Shredder's laugh echoed in his mind.

* * *

 _Reality_

Aang shot awake with a gasp. He looked all around and saw he was still on the island with all his friends. He breathed a sigh of relief as his pet lemur looked towards him.

"It was just a dream Momo. Shredder's not here." Aang said in relief as Momo chirped. Aang then stood up. "Well, I better keep training."

Aang glared down towards a bush as he began to make a series of kicks towards it. The lemur watched as he did, but also turned his head to see a blue-clad turtle walking towards Aang.

"Hey, you got something against that bush?" Leo asked as Aang turned around to him.

"No, just training." Aang replied as he resumed his kicks.

"It's the middle of the night." Leo pointed out. "You should get some sleep."

Aang shook his head as he increased his kicking speed. "I cant' do that. I have train, you can go back to sleep Leo. I've got work to do."

Leo shook his head as he walked behind Aang. "Sorry about this Aang."

"Huh?"

Aang then fell to the ground as Leo delivered a precise neck chop to knock him out. "You need to get some sleep." Leo picked up the unconscious Avatar and set him down on a sleeping bag before Leo went to bed himself.

* * *

 _The Next Morning; Fire Nation Capital_

Zuko got up from his bed as a couple of his servants helped him out on his royal robe and straightened it up. One servant walked up to him with a bowl of fruit.

"Fresh fruit Prince Zuko?"

Zuko shook his head as he raised his hand. Another servant approached him with a bowl of water.

"May I wash your feet sir?"

The Fire Prince raised his other hand and shook his head once more as a third servant walked up towards him.

"Head massage?"

He shook his head yet again as a fourth servant came to him with a plate of steaming towels.

"Hot towel?"

Zuko looked at it for a minute before he shrugged. He took a towel and rubbed his face with it for a bit before walking out of his room.

* * *

Prince Zuko walked out of the main gates of his family's palace and was greeted with many cheers from a multitude of people; mostly girls, who seemed to praise him as a hero. The cheering crowd was prevented from getting any closer by a series of guards. Zuko waved his hand towards the crowd as one large girl tried to get towards him, but the guards stopped her and carried her off.

A series of servants caught up with Zuko carrying a royal palanquin. "Prince Zuko, is something wrong? You didn't take the palanquin?"

"I'm just going over to Mai's house. It's not far." Zuko replied.

"It's not a prince's place to walk anywhere sir."

Zuko stood for a minute before giving a humorous smile as he got onto the palanquin. The servants picked it up and carried it past the crows. Not even a full minute later they came to the house. Zuko opened the drapes and saw Mai waiting for him inside.

* * *

Elsewhere, Karai was training against a dummy that hung in the middle of her own personal quarters. At the moment, Karai was wearing a red sleeveless shirt and blue sweat pants as she laid a series of kicks and chops to the stuffed dummy. But she noticed that a lot of her attacks we're lacking in power. Her mind was unfocused.

Ever since learning of the Fire Nation's history for the past century, she had a lot on her mind; and many of these thoughts we're conflicting with what she knew, or rather what she _thought_ she knew.

She heard a knock on her door and ceased her training as she opened it and was surprised by who was there.

"Hey Karai." Ty-Lee greeted with a smile.

"Ty-Lee? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out." Ty-Lee answered.

Karai was a bit confused. "'Hang out'? What do you mean by that?"

"You know, get something to eat, talk, relax, that kind of stuff." Ty-Lee explained. "So, you wanna hang out?"

Karai thought for a moment. She really didn't have anything at all to do today, and her training wasn't the best right now. Perhaps this could help ease her mind.

"Sure." Karai replied. "Just let me get changed first."

* * *

 _The Island_

It was pretty early as Leo was woken up by the sounds of hard punching. He didn't even have to open his eyes to know who it was. "Oh don't tell me." Leo grunted as he sat up.

It was Aang. He had his shirt off, revealing the scar of where Shredder stabbed him. He was repeatedly punching a tree with a fierce look on his face.

The remaining Turtles, Sokka, Toph and Katara woke up to see what Aang was doing and just looked confused.

"Uh… what's up with that?" Mikey questioned.

Katara was the first to stand up as she walked towards Aang, still in his intense work out. "Hey, how long have you been up?"

"A couple hours." Aang answered.

"Probably would have been more." Leo said. "I caught him training late last night."

"Seriously?" Raph questioned.

"Yeah seriously!" Aang exclaimed as he circled the tree with several punches, kicks, and chops. "I've got a lot more skills to refine if I'm going to fight Ozai and Shredder!"

"You mean _we're_ going to fight them." Don told Aang. "There's no way you can take both of them on by yourself."

"Don's right. And besides, there is such a thing as over training." Katara pointed out.

Aang took a deep breath before punching the tree again. His body comically vibrated before he fell to the ground; and all the trees and leaves of the tree fell off and on top of him.

The Turtles and Benders, and Sokka, all looked towards him as Aang shot up with a combat stance and a somewhat panicked look on his face.

"You don't get it do you!? My form is bad, I'm sloppy, and I still don't know any Firebending! Not even the basics!" Aang argued as his left eye-twitched.

"That argument may have been more valid without the eye-twitch." Don told Aang. Katara seemed to be in agreement as she tried to gently lower Aang's combat stance.

"You don't need to know any Firebending Aang." Mikey added. "That eclipse will block it all anyway, that includes Ozai. What's he going to do without his powers? He's just one guy."

"Plus fire's a stupid element anyway." Sokka quickly added.

"What about Shredder?!" Aang questioned in a hyper-tone. "He's not a Firebender, the eclipse won't affect him! Last time I thought him I almost died! Literally!"

"We told you, _we_ would handle Shredder!" Leo told Aang. "You stay focused on Ozai."

"Well I still have to work on everything else!" Aang made several chops. "I better spend the whole day training." He bowed to his friends repeatedly before zooming off on his air-scooter while everyone else just looked confused.

"Is it just me, or is that kid acting more crazy than usual?" Raph questioned.

"It's not just you." Toph said. "Twinkle Toes is on the edge. His heart-rate's beating super fast."

"My guess is that all the stress is getting to him." Don guessed.

"So what do we do then?" Katara asked.

"Let him train." Leo answered. "If thinks he needs to refine his skills, then he should. He'll wear himself out and he'll get some sleep right after. We'll make sure he spends the rest of the days resting."

"Yeah, we don't need him worn out before the Invasion." Mikey agreed.

* * *

 _Later that night_

Aang walked back to the campsite where all the others we're lying down, practically asleep already. Aang did indeed spend the whole day training, and he was worn out. He yawned as he fell back on the ground.

"Goodnight Katara. Goodnight Leo. Goodnight Sokka. Goodnight Raph. Goodnight Toph. Goodnight Don. Goodnight Mikey. Goodnight Appa. Goodnight Momo. Goodnight Appa and Mo…"

"GO TO SLEEP ALREADY!" Toph and Raph both yelled at the same time.

"There are only ten of us! Geeze!" Raph exclaimed before he fell back and slept.

Aang was a bit startled by that but remained quiet as he lay on the grass and drifted into sleep.

* * *

 _Dream World_

"HELP!"

Aang heard a girl's scream for help as he ran down a grassy field at night. He wore a yellow and white ninja-like robe with chains and spikey black hair as he tried to get towards the source of the scream.

"HELP ME!"

As Aang ran across the ground, it looked like the ground behind him was breaking apart as he continued to search. "Come on! Where are you!"

Aang jumped to the top of a hill and below it he saw the one who was calling for help. "Katara!"

"Aang! HELP ME!" Katara screamed out to him, she was dressed in her blue Water Tribe outfit as she called out to him.

Aang wasted no time running down towards her, she reached out her hand as he did the same. Just as they we're about to reach each other however, a fissure in the ground opened between them as blood red flames erupted out; forcing them to separate as the red fire continued to spread.

Out of the fire, rose the massive frame of the armored Shredder was he was the size of a mountain. Aang saw him rise and could only look in honest terror. The Shredder faced the paralyzed Katara. She screamed as he brought his claws down onto her.

"NO!" Aang screamed as the entire world around him was covered in blood-red flames. Shredder stood on top of it all and laughed in joyful malice.

* * *

 _Reality_

Aang shot up with a gasp, having woken up from a nightmare far worse than the last one. "I've gotta be ready."

The only one who seemed to notice him getting up was Leo, as he was a light sleeper. Leo nudged Katara to wake up slightly. "He's at it again."

The young Avatar walked around a group of sleeping sheep as he alternated his bending stances in various forms. Katara walked up towards him.

"Aang it's the middle of the night. You need to go back to sleep."

"But the world's going to be engulfed in blood fire!" Aang ranted as he continued to circle the sheep.

Katara just looked confused. She sighed as she walked up towards him and grabbed him by the shoulder "Aang, sleep." She insisted with gentle sternness. "Please, for me."

Aang let it sink in for a minute before relenting. He gave a slight nod before walking off with Katara.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se_

By this point; the burnt remains of the Earth King's palace have been completely replaced with a metal fortress that bore the Foot symbol on it. It was now a massive construction laboratory, both on the surface and below it.

Within one lab, worked Baxter Stockman. This was a genetics' lab as Stockman placed a small container of the DNA sample acquired from the Bloodbender Hama into a console attached to a genetic tank, similar to one that the Dark Turtles we're created in. The computer analyzed the sample before it entered the tank, where the green liquid began to work, as it seemed the liquid DNA sample almost solidified.

" _DNA sample analyzed. Commencing replication process."_ A computer voice spoke.

"Well that's all set. Benders are really an interesting species." Stockman mused before the door to his lab opened up and his fanboy walked/ran in.

"Dr. Stockman sir!" Dr. Chaplin said as he came in. "Great news; we just finished… Wait, sir what are you working on?"

Stockman rolled his holographic eyes. Chaplin may have annoyed him but he was impressed with his eagerness to learn, and had a slight smile as he intended to blow him away.

"I'm glad you asked, Dr. Chaplin." Stockman began. "Let me show you." Stockman got to a computer console and typed in a few commands before the computer screen opened to reveal a single strand of DNA. The strand itself was white, while the four bases we're colored red, blue, yellow, and green.

"This right here is DNA from a completely random human. As you can see, there isn't anything special about it." Stockman explained as he typed in a few more commands as the screen showed three more strands of DNA. "While these are DNA samples from Benders. Firebending, Waterbending, and Earthbending; what do you notice about them?"

Chaplin looked to the screen to see the three samples of DNA. They otherwise looked normal; save for some form of energy aura around each of them. A red aura around one, a blue aura around the other, and a green aura around the third.

"It looks like some kind of… energy that surrounds them." Dr. Chaplin guessed.

"Yes, that is the best explanation I came up with as well." Dr. Stockman began to explain. "At first I believed that Benders had an additional fifth base to them, as though Bending we're some form of genetic mutation or disease of some sort. But, it's something else. Something that I have never seen before, and it makes me excited."

Dr. Chaplin had an amazed smile on his face. "Man, that is so cool!"

"Yes." Dr. Stockman agreed. "Of course, I wish I could also access some Airbending DNA, but we both know that's not an option. Though I suppose if the Shredder allowed me, I could acquire a sample from the Avatar. With further research we may find a way to create some form of artificial benders, or even enhance it! The possibilities are endless!"

Chaplin was completely speechless. "Oh man, this… this could be revolutionary! A whole new field of science! I… I don't know what to say!"

"Well, maybe you could explain to me what it is you originally wanted to tell me when you came in here?" Stockman suggested.

"Oh right." Dr. Chaplin regained his composure. "And believe me Dr. Stockman sir, you're going to dig it big time!" He motioned towards the door with an enthusiastic smile, eager to show his mentor what he was working on.

* * *

Dr. Chaplin led Dr. Stockman out of the genetics lab and down a short hallway. They reached a metal door that opened to reveal some form of command center with several Foot technicians working on the consoles. The command center was that of a balcony with windowed walls. Both Chaplin and Stockman looked out the window to see what was shown as lights in the massive chamber shined to reveal it.

It had the appearance of a navy aircraft carrier; though on the corner areas there appeared to be some form of engines mixed with rockets; along its sides we're a large assortment of guns, cannons, and turrets.

Stockman's holographic eyes widened as he saw this. For the first time ever, Chaplin had impressed him.

"Well, what do you think sir?" Chaplin asked.

"How… wha… how did you managed to build this?!" Stockman questioned.

"Well, all the frame and metalwork came from that massive drill that broke down outside the walls of the city." Chaplin explained. "The tech division also brought over all the alien technology we've salvaged from New York as well: Federation, Triceraton, _and_ Utrom technology! This baby is a flying fortress! And we're set to launch to!"

Stockman couldn't help but smile. "I am impressed." He said as he crossed his metal arms.

A foot technician walked up to the duo. "Dr. Stockman sir. The satellite network has located the comet and we have all the data on it. The comet's mass, its velocity, its weight, volume, size, all of it." He handed Dr. Stockman a small tablet.

The robotic scientist looked to the data and aw all the numbers. His smile grew. "The Shredder is going to love this! Send all the data to him immediately, and launch the vessel! We're about to make history!"

* * *

 _Fire Nation Capital, Mai's house_

The Fire Nation Prince and his girlfriend both snuggled together on the coach.

"Tell me, if you can anything you wanted right now, what would it be?" Zuko asked.

Mai smiled. "Hmm, a big fancy fruit tart. With rose petals on top."

Zuko smiled back. "You know, being a prince and all, I just might be able to make that happen."

Mai couldn't help but chuckle. "That would be impressive."

"Do you think you can find fresh fruit tart for the lady, with rose petals on top?" Zuko asked his servants who stood at the doorway.

Both the servants bowed. "Excellent choice sir." They both walked out to leave the young couple.

"I guess there are some nice perks that come with being royalty." Mai said as they resumed their cuddling. "Though there's some boring stuff to, like that all-day war-meeting coming up."

"War-meeting?" Zuko questioned as he sat up. "What are you talking about?"

"Azula mentioned something, I assumed you we're going to." Mai explained.

"I guess I wasn't invited." Zuko assumed.

* * *

Karai and Ty-Lee both sat at a table in Karai's quarters, having just returned from a day of hanging out. "This was a fun day, wasn't it?" Ty-Lee asked.

"I would assume so. I've never done anything like this before." Karai replied.

Ty-Lee looked comically surprised. "Seriously!? You've never hung out with anyone before?! Don't you have any friends?!"

"No, I do not." Karai answered simply.

Ty-Lee looked completely speechless. "You… you never… had any friends?"

"Most of my life I've either trained with my father, trained some our soldiers, and helped to bring order to the Foot, should chaos ever arise. It's mostly been work for me." Karai explained.

"So you never had any fun?! At all!?" Ty-Lee exclaimed.

Karai thought about it for a moment. The more she thought, the more she realized that she really never did do anything that one could consider fun. It's always been serious with her.

"No. Not really." Karai honestly said.

Ty-Lee looked with sympathy. "Karai I… that's horrible!"

Karai didn't respond right away. "That's just how it was for me."

"But you have to have fun once in your life. You have to live your life the way you want it to." Ty-Lee explained. "From the sound of things, it really only seems like you lived your life the way _Shredder_ wanted for you."

"He's my father."

"A very scary father." Ty-Lee replied. "But… you should do what _you_ want, not what he wants! You're a good person. And if you want, I could be you're friend!"

Karai looked surprised to say the least. "I… really?"

Ty-Lee smiled. "Absolutely! You can never have too many friends." Ty-Lee acrobatically jumped off her chair and engulfed the surprised Karai in a hug as she let the words sink into her mind.

* * *

 _The next morning. The island_

"Wake up Avatar. Wake up."

Aang's eyes stirred as his blurry vision caught the appearance of a familiar armored individual.

"You have overslept." The Avatar's vision cleared to see Shredder standing over him. "You missed the Invasion. All your friends are dead, and you will now join them!"

Shredder laughed as he raised his foot and stomped down into Aang's vision.

* * *

 _Reality_

Aang snapped awake. He rushed to the sleeping Sokka.

"Sokka get up! I need to know what day it is!"

The young warrior was suddenly awoken. "Wha… who's talking!?" He tried to get up with his sword only to smack his face into a rock.

Everyone else groaned as they all woke up from Aang's outburst. "Aang take a chill pill!" Mikey stated.

"Yeah its still two days before the Invasion." Toph groaned.

This didn't appear to ease Aang's stress at all as he tried to pull on Sokka's legs. "Sokka, you need to get up and drill you're rock climbing exercises!"

"What?" Sokka questioned.

"In one of my dreams you we're running from Foot soldiers, trying to climb this cliff! But you we're too slow and they got you!"

Sokka just looked greatly annoyed as he stood up. "But that was just a dream, I'm a great climber."

"Then climb that cliff! Climb it fast!" Aang pointed to a very large cliff. Sokka looked at it up and down. He pointed towards it, to which Aang nodded. Sokka proceeded to walk towards it.

"Stupid Avatar, stupid cliff, stupid dream!" Sokka muttered as he began to climb. "I can climb fast!"

Aang smiled as he saw Sokka do this. Mikey took out some water and drank some before he handed it to Toph.

"Guys don't drink that!" Aang exclaimed; causing them both to spit out the water. Mikey's splashed over Raph, while Toph's hit Katara. No one noticed Sokka sliding down the cliff he was climbing

"Why the shell not?!" Mikey questioned.

"Is it poisoned?!" Top questioned as well as Katara bent the water off her and Raph, while the red-clad Turtle was looking more and more annoyed.

"In my dream, we we're right in the middle of the invasion! But you had to use the bathroom! We died cause of your tiny bladder!"

"What?" Leo questioned.

Aang then looked to Leo. "And you need to make your swords stronger! They broke so easily because in my dream you we're fighting a five-headed-dragon with Shredder heads coming out of it!"

"Aang, that makes no sense at all!" Don told him.

"Seriously, even _I_ think that's crazy." Mikey

Aang still looked panicked. "But the dragon it was so huge! The fire it breathed was purple and it actually froze stuff instead of burning it!"

Raph sighed. "We should have seen it coming Aang. You're one rib short of a barbeque."

"I'M NOT CRAZY!" Aang shouted at the top of his lungs, accidentally using Airbending in his breath to comically blow Raph away.

"No, but you're about to be if you don't cool it!" Leo insisted.

Katara seemed to be in agreement. "Aang, we get you're trying to help, but you need to get a grip! You're unraveling."

Aang took a few seconds to calm down. "You're right. I'm loosing my mind."

They all failed to notice Sokka almost making it up the cliff, but he lost his grip and slid down while screaming like a girl.

* * *

A couple of minutes passed as most of the group was listening to Aang rambling; all the while Sokka and Don we're both working on constructing armor for Appa.

"It's like every time I think about how stressed I am, I end up _more_ stressed!" Aang stated with his right eye twitching and his fingers fiddling. "I'm like a big growing snowball of nerves!"

"Yeah, we pretty much established that." Raph said.

"Well of course you're stressed." Sokka began. "Because you have to fight the Fire Lord, the baddest man on in our world, who's being backed by Shredder, the baddest man of _another_ world. That's two evil bad guys you gotta fight, and you better win or we're all done for!"

All those words Sokka just said had added even more to Aang's already stressed mind.

"You're not helping here Sokka." Don pointed out.

"What? That's the truth and he knows it." Sokka pointed out.

"Unless you have something actually _helpful_ to say, keep quiet." Leo told him as Sokka grumbled.

"Plus we're the ones fighting Shredder." Mikey added. "We take him while Aang beats the Chump Lord."

"'Chump Lord'?" Katara questioned.

"Well he's not gonna be the Fire Lord if he can't Firebend, am I right?" Mikey tried to joke to ease up the tension that Aang had; but it didn't seem to work.

Katara took note of Aang shivering like a rabbit in the middle of a snowstorm. She walked up to him and placed both her hands on his shoulders.

"You know what? I got just the thing. Get ready to be de-stressified."

* * *

Katara and Aang we're both in a natural hot spring on the island. Katara wore her white undergarments with her hair tied back while Aang was just shirtless.

"These yoga stretches can really work wonders if you do them in extreme heat." Katara clapped her hands above her head and Aang mimicked her actions. "Reach up. Reach for the sun." They both stretched up higher before they flexed their arms out. "Feel you're chi paths clearing." They stretched their legs out and touched down.

"Now close your eyes. How are you feeling?"

"I feel… really warm."

"Good. Good." Katara said in a soothing voice. "Go on."

"Like there's this warm feeling all around me." Aang continued. "This heat… Like I'm in the Fire Lord's palace and he's shooting a bunch of fireballs at me! And the whole world's being engulfed in flames!"

Aang fell on his back and Katara could tell this wasn't going to work.

"Maybe Leo might have a better idea of what to do." She said.

* * *

Leo and Aang both sat on an empty grassy field in a cross-legged position facing each other. "Master Splinter has taught us how meditating can calm and ease the mind." Leo began. "The first thing you have to do is clear your mind."

"Clear my mind?" Aang asked.

"Yes." Leo confirmed. "Don't think about anything. Don't think about me, don't think about our friends, don't think about Shredder, don't think about the Fire Lord, or the invasion, or anything or anyone."

Aang sighed as he closed his eyes and attempted to meditate as Leo talked him through.

"You're mind is a blank. There are no thoughts, no fears, just an empty void. Focus on that emptiness and think of nothing as you focus your own will and inner energy."

Aang did as instructed as he tried to not think about anything. At first it seemed to work. Within Aang's closed eyes there was nothing. It was calming, but something hit his mind. He didn't know what, but thanks to certain outside forces, something _did_ enter his mind. Streams of fire, water, earth, metal, and wind all came into his dark vision and formed together into one being that resembled an elemental-composed Shredder.

The slice from this version of the Shredder; forced Aang to open his eyes and he defensively threw his arms out, accidentally creating an Airbending blast that blew Leo back a couple of yards.

Aang winced nervously after realizing what he just did. "Sorry Leo."

Leo sighed as he got back up. "Maybe you're stress is the kind you need to talk out."

* * *

This time, Aang was leaning back on the ground with a large sheep serving as a headrest. Close to him was Sokka, who was wearing his beard once more.

"Why don't you get right down to business and tell me what's been bothering you?" Sokka suggested as he spoke in a tone of voice that made him sound like more a therapist, or his poor imitation of one.

"You know what's been bothering me!" Aang exclaimed. "I have to fight the Fire Lord in a few days, and Shredder's with him!"

Therapeutic Sokka nodded. "Tell me more about this 'Fire Lord' and this 'Shredder'. Why are you so afraid of them?"

"You said it yourself; they're the baddest guys in both mine and our friends' world!" Aang replied. "Plus I tried to fight Shredder before and almost died! I have to beat at least the Fire Lord and save the world; and that's assuming the Turtles can actually beat Shredder so I won't have to!"

Therapeutic Sokka nodded again. "Life does feel that way sometimes, doesn't it? Like we're all trying to save the world from evil?"

"Okay, but what can I do to feel better?!" Aang questioned.

The so-called therapist handed Aang a small sheep. "Want to try screaming into this pillow?"

Aang took the 'pillow' and screamed into its fur. The sheep looked at him for a second. Sokka gave a thumbs up to Aang and nodded his head, while Aang just shook it as it didn't help at all.

Raph then all of a sudden walked in. "I'll take it from here." Raph pulled Aang by the arm and began to drag him away.

"Perhaps I could give you some anger management advice?" Sokka asked to Raph with his therapist voice again.

"Take off that stupid beard!" Raph replied to him. "It's impossible to take you seriously with that thing."

Sokka grumbled as he crossed his arms.

* * *

Raph stood by a large tree with Aang looking at him. "Don't worry Twinkle Toes. I got just the thing to take the edge off ya. Anger management."

"But I'm not angry." Aang pointed out.

"Not that kind of anger management. My kind." Raph began as he walked behind the tree. "You are going to punch this tree. And every time you do, I'm going to insult you."

"How is insulting me going to help me?" Aang questioned.

"Stress and anger both come from the same kind of place." Raph explained. "We're gonna work off your stress. I'll insult you; you'll get frustrated and take it out on this tree. You get it all out and you'll be back in no time."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." Aang assumed.

"Alright then. Start punching." Raph ordered. As soon as Aang punched the tree, Raph began his insults. "Come on, you call that a punch?"

Aang punched hared, but Raph still called him out. "My grandma can punch harder than that." This seemed to get Aang more frustrated as Raph kept going. " _Sokka_ can punch harder than that."

Raph's insults seemed to get to Aang, which caused Aang to get angry and punch the tree harder. Raph still continued. "You're weak! You got nothing! I wanna see some hurting!" Aang's anger seemed to increase even more as he punched the tree relentlessly. "Did I mention I kissed Katara?!"

That struck a nerve. Aang was silent for half a second before he growled and literally punched right through the tree. When Aang's hand emerged on the other side he grabbed Raph by the throat and began to squeeze.

"Okay! _Okay!_ " Raph winced as Aang actually had a good grip.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Capital_

Azula was in a chamber getting her hair washed and combed by some female servants in some sort of fancy fountain. She noticed her brother walking in.

"Hello Zuzu. If you've come for a royal hair combing, I'm afraid you'll have to wait."

"So I guess there's a big war meeting coming up, huh? And apparently I'm not welcome there." Zuko stated.

Azula scoffed with a smirk. "What do you mean, of course you're welcome there. Everyone's going; even Shredder and his officials."

"Well I guess that's why no on bothered to tell me about it; or that Shredder and all his pals we're gonna be there to." Zuko said harshly. "Why is the Foot attending anyway?"

"We are still in an alliance with them." Azula replied. "They're just as welcome as we are. Now as for you, I'm certain Dad wants you there to. You probably weren't invited because it's so obvious that you're supposed to be there."

"Well… were you invited?" Zuko asked.

"Of course, I'm the princess."

"And I'm the _prince_!"

"Exactly. So stop acting like a paranoid child." Azula told him. "Just go to the meeting."

Zuko scowled. "Forget it. I'm not going!"

The scared prince walked out of the room and accidentally bumped into someone. "Watch where you're… Karai?"

The Kunoichi looked a bit surprised at him. "Zuko. I did not mean to startle you."

Zuko sighed. "No. I'm sorry; I'm just in a bad mood today. Apparently there's this war meeting no one told me about."

"War meeting?" Karai questioned. "What war meeting?"

Zuko looked surprised towards her. "You don't know? I only just found out both our fathers we're having this big meeting tomorrow. Azula says your father and all his elite we're going to be there, I assumed you knew to."

Karai looked a bit surprised and concerned at the same time. "I was not aware of this."

"I thought your father trusted you with everything." Zuko said.

"Of course he does." Karai replied. "It's just…" Something then came to her mind. "I have to go."

Karai walked quickly down the long hallway as Zuko watched her go. "Nice talking with you?" He guessed.

* * *

 _Oroku Saki's quarters._

Hun and the four Elite Ninja bowed before their master as they reported to him. "Master, everything is ready. The weapon is on its way, and everyone is where they're supposed to be."

"Excellent." Oroku Saki mused. He then noticed his daughter walking into the chambers. "Ah Karai, welcome."

"There is a war meeting tomorrow between you and Fire Lord Ozai and his officials, correct?" Karai questioned to her father.

"Yes, that is correct."

"And why was I not told of this?" Karai questioned.

Hun couldn't help but smirk. "Aw, is someone feeling a little left out?"

Karai glared at him before turning back to her father. "Father, I was not told of this, and neither was Zuko. Why?"

Oroku Saki noticed how she included Zuko on this. "Karai, ever since we've arrived in the Fire Nation, I've noticed something different about you. You've changed in some way."

"What are you talking about?" Karai questioned.

Saki began to walk towards her. "You seem distracted, unfocused. You've been spending a great deal of your time with Zuko and his friends. With all the time that you've spent with them, I can only assume that you had too much on your plate."

"What exactly are you suggesting, father?" Karai asked, feeling a bit uneasy.

"I am going to be straight with you, my daughter. Where exactly do your loyalties lie?" He asked.

This surprised Karai. He never asked her a question like that once to her. So naturally she didn't answer right away. "I… I serve you." She bowed to him. "My loyalties are to you father."

"Good. That's all I needed to hear." Oroku Saki replied. "You may go."

Karai stood up and turned around to walk out of the chamber leaving Hun, the Elite Ninja, and their master.

"Master Shredder, if I may be so bold." Hun began. "I think Karai is slipping. She's been spending way too much time with that brat prince and his pals."

"I have noticed that as well." Oroku Saki replied. "She says her loyalties are to me, but now I am beginning to doubt that." He turned to the corner where out of the shadows walked two Foot Tech ninja. "You know what to do."

The Foot Tech ninjas bowed before pressing their buttons and turning invisible.

* * *

 _The Island_

Now it was Don's turn to try to get Aang to relax. "Alright, just pick up a hammer and start pounding." Don suggested as the two sat down in front of the many pieces they we're using to build Appa's armor.

"Don how is this supposed to help me relax?" Aang asked Don.

"You're thinking too much about Shredder and Ozai." Don replied. "This way, you'll be working on something productive and it'll help take your mind off it."

"O… Okay then." Aang was a bit unsure but went with it anyways. Don nodded as he picked up his tools and got to work on the pile he was near. Aang took up a hammer and a nail and began to pound it in.

As Aang began to shift through the pile of nails, he came across a small saw blade that Don was using. When Aang saw that, he also saw a flash from the blade, a reflection of sunlight. But seeing that shine made him remember what happened in Ba-Sing-Se.

His memory flashed back to when Shredder stabbed him in the back. He could still hear his laugh. That laugh made Aang drop all he was holding, startling Don.

"No! I can't!" Aang exclaimed. "I can't be around sharp objects right now! Every time I see something sharp I can't help but think about Shredder!"

Don sighed. "Yeah, you got a point there.

* * *

A few moments later, Aang was lying flat on a large set of round rock cylinders brought up by Toph.

"Alright. What you need is a good old fashioned back pounding to relieve you're stress." Toph said.

"Pound away."

She got to work as she kicked the ground repeatedly. This caused all the rock-cylinders to pound his back relentlessly. Aang did not like it one bit.

"Ah! Ow! Ah!" Aang grunted in pain. "Toph… I… think…. this… is… bruising… me!"

Toph stopped, but Aang's body still vibrated for a minute before falling off and onto the ground.

"Sorry, I forgot you have baby skin." Toph then began to think as Aang tried to pull himself up. "Well there's one other thing we can try." She used Earthbending to kick up a nearby porcupine into the air, which she caught. "Acupuncture!"

The porcupine shot up its needles. Seeing many, many, sharp things reminded Aang once again of Shredder, forcing him to run away screaming, leaving a trail of dust behind him.

* * *

Mikey and Aang both sat on flat wooden boards in the middle of the water. "Okay Aang, if doesn't get you to chill, nothing will."

"What? Some kind of water meditation?" Aang questioned. "Leo already tried that."

"Nope. The one and only way to relieve any form of stress is fun." Mikey said

"Fun?"

"Yep." Mikey said. "No work, no meditation, no needles, just good-old-fashion fun. Surfing fun!"

"Wait… surfing?" Aang questioned.

Mikey then called out to the beach. "Katara! Let it rip!"

Katara nodded from her spot on the beach as she got into a Waterbending stance and began to make a series of motions. These motions we're able to pull up a few waves as Mikey and Aang both began to stand up on their boards.

The waves started out small but began to pick up speed and size. Soon one large wave caught both boards and it increased in size to the point that it earned the Mikey-approval.

"Yeah! Wahoo!" Mikey cheered as both him and Aang surfed. "Cowabunga!" As Mikey cheered, Aang to began to smile. He was indeed having fun and it looked like it was working.

As the wave rode, it created a water tunnel that Aang and Mikey both went into. Mikey laughed, and Aang laughed a bit too. However, Aang looked into his reflection in the wave and saw something else.

With some unknown outside forces, it looked like Aang's reflection in the water was shifting and changing. He tried to get a closer look when all of a sudden; it looked as though Shredder was lunging out of the water right at him.

This forced a scream out of Aang as he instinctively through his hands out; sending an air-blast through the wave, but accidentally launched himself right at Mikey. The two tumbled and skipped across the water as the wave fell down on them both.

Katara winced from her spot in the beach as they both whipped out. Mikey and Aang's heads both stuck out of the water. Mikey's head had a starfish on it as he glared towards Aang who could only give a nervous laugh.

* * *

 _Later that night; Fire Nation Capital_

Zuko was at Mai's house once again. He leaned on the window railing as he looked out towards the palace. Mai walked towards him.

"Zuko, its just a dumb meeting." Mai said. "Who cares?"

"I don't." Zuko replied.

"Well good, you shouldn't." Mai stated. "I mean, why would you even want to go. Just think about how things went at the last war meeting you went to."

That was one war meeting he'll never forget. The reminder will always be on his face. "I know." He said with a sigh.

Mai sought to cheer him up. "You know what will make you feel better?" She held his shoulders with a smile. "Ordering some servants around. I might be hungry for a whole tray of fruit tarts. And maybe a little palanquin-ride around town? Double time?"

"Wow. That sounds like fun!" Both Zuko and Mai turned around in surprise to find Ty-Lee and Karai present. "Hi guys. Sorry for coming in without permission."

Mai playfully rolled her eyes. "Somehow I'm not surprised." She looked to the kunoichi. "Oh, hey Karai."

"Mai." Karai greeted back.

"So listen guys, Karai says she's not going to that lame meeting tomorrow either; so how about we all spend the night together here? It'll be like a sleep over."

Zuko was a bit surprised. "So you're not going either?" He asked Karai.

"No." Karai shook her head. "If I wasn't invited, I don't see a particular reason to attend."

"You weren't invited?" Mai questioned. "I thought Shredder trusted you with everything."

"Apparently his trust in me is weaning." Karai stated. Ty-Lee put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well who needs that dumb meeting? It would probably be just a bunch of boring stuff anyway. All four of us can have some fun together. It be nice for you just to relax and not have to work Karai."

Karai gave an amused smile towards Ty-Lee. "Very well." She turned towards Mai. "If that is alright with you."

Mai smiled. "Well, you're pretty much the only person in the entire Foot clan that I can at least have a descent conversation with so, sure why not?"

"Thank you."

Zuko smiled a bit. Despite his previous anger about the meeting, he couldn't help but feel comfort in the people he considered his friends, including Karai.

* * *

 _The Island_

Everyone was getting ready to hit the hay. Aang sat and held his knees as he faced everyone who was sitting down on their sleeping bags.

"Thanks for everything guys."

"So, did any of we did help at all?" Leo asked.

"You feel less stressed? Ready for a good night sleep?" Katara asked at all.

Aang felt a bit unsure. "Uh… I kind of think I sorta might slightly feel a little better… maybe."

"Then our work here is done." Sokka yawned before lying down on his mat; everyone else, human and Turtle, all followed suit. Leo however was a bit unsure as he could tell by the tone in Aang's voice that what they did didn't really help him all that much.

Aang lay down on the grass as he let sleep take hold.

* * *

 _Dream World_

Aang woke up to hear several faint and evil chuckles as he heard several familiar voices call his name.

"What? Who's there?" Aang got up and looked around in surprise. It appeared as though he we're in some kind of graveyard with an eerie green fog all around him. He heard more and more chuckles as he turned around and was surprised at what he saw.

On the left side behind him he saw what appeared to be demonic versions of Ozai and Azula, baring white eyes, claws and fangs, both laughing evilly. On the right side behind him, Aang saw demonic versions of Shredder and Hun, both laughing at him evilly as well. Aang looked in front with an even more scared face and saw all four Dark Turtles laughing evilly towards him as well.

"No… no… stay away from me!"

Aang had been more scared then he had ever been in his life as he tried to stand up. The demonic Azula laughed as she created a bolt of lightning from her hands and shot them at Aang; causing him to go flying back.

Aang landed and crashed into a few graves, as he looked in horror to see the demonic versions of Hun and Ozai approach him while laughing. Aang tried to run but the demonic Hun grabbed him by the legs and slammed him on the ground. Before Aang got a chance to get up the demonic Ozai thrusted his hands forward to create a large fireball to blast Aang back into a mausoleum, which collapsed down on him.

The young Avatar crawled out of the rubble as he saw the laughing Dark Turtles approach him. Dark Don jumped up towards him and snapped his tail at Aang, sending him to Dark Raph who punched him across the face with his talon-knuckle. Aang landed on the ground, but his head was grabbed by Dark Mikey, who chuckled as he batted him away with his club. Dark Leo caught him as he laughed as well before slashing him with his sword.

Aang rolled on the ground across a few gravestones before he came to the feet of the demonic Shredder. The evil being gave his haunting laugh as he lifted his foot and brought it down on Aang.

The entire ground broke apart below him as Aang fell into darkness, screaming all the way. He fell for who-knows-how-long until he landed on solid ground. There appeared to be nothing there until Aang looked around and saw all his friends in a circle: Leo, Katara, Toph, Sokka, Raph, Don, and Mikey we're all there.

Before Aang could even do anything something happened. A large column of fire erupted from the ground and completely engulfed Raph and Toph in it. Aang could only look in horror as he saw water emerge from the ground and encase Sokka in it before it froze completely and shattered, taking him with it. Aang turned around and saw the ground erupt in a giant mound of earth and mud as it enveloped Don and Mikey and pulled them both into the ground. Aang then turned to Leo as he saw a stream of liquid metal come down from the air and sharp blades came out that completely diced and sliced Leo, as he vanished into dust.

Aang then turned to the only one still standing, Katara. "Aang… help me…" Those we're the last words said before a wind circled around her and took the form of a tornado and tore her away form him forever.

The next thing Aang saw we're streams of fire, water, mud and earth, wind, and liquid metal all coming together and engulfing him completely.

* * *

 _Reality_

Aang awoke with a loud scream that forced everyone awake. Even Appa and Momo we're startled by this.

"What the shell kid?! You're screaming like a freaking maniac?!" Raph yelled.

"Aang!? What happened?!" Katara questioned as they all got to him.

"It's the nightmares. They just keep getting worse and worse." Aang said as he turned around and faced the ground on his hands and knees.

"Looks like its time for another therapy session!" Sokka said as he donned his beard and mustache again.

"Sokka take this seriously!" Leo scolded.

"No, that won't help! Nothing helps!" Aang stated frustratingly as he faced away from the group. "There's only one thing to do. I'm going to stay awake straight through to the invasion."

Sokka, Mikey, Don, and even Toph's mouths hung open. Leo and Katara both looked to Aang with concern, while Raph just face-palmed.

* * *

 _The Next Morning_

Katara was doing some morning stretches when she noticed Aang walking by as he stayed up all night long. And he wasn't looking good at all.

"Invasion. All aboard for the invasion."

"You don't look so good. You sure you can't just lie down for a little nap?" Katara asked with concern.

"I told you, I can't go back to sleep!" Aang insisted.

"Aang, staying up all night can't be good for you." Katara told him.

"Actually, staying up all night has given me time to think, and I've realized some big things Katara" Aang said as he faced the rising sun on the horizon.

"What big things?"

"I see everything so clearly now." Aang began. "What really matters. Why I'm really doing this. I'm doing it to save the world." He turned to face her. "But more than that, I'm doing it for the people I love. I'm doing it for you Katara." He was up and close to her.

"Aang… what are you saying?"

"I'm saying, I love you." He kissed her on the lips before the two embraced each other with a passionate kiss. After a few seconds they broke apart.

"What are we doing?" Katara asked with a smile.

"What our hearts have been telling us to do for a long, long time!" Aang pulled her down. "Baby, you're my forever girl." He puckered his lips for what would be a big sloppy kiss.

"Aang."

He opened his eyes to find Katara was not in his arms at all, but was behind him the entire time.

"I was just saying you should take a nap?"

Aang straightened up, realizing that the whole thing was just a daydream. "Oh I guess I kinda drifted off into a daydream."

"What was you're dream about?" Katara asked.

Aang looked a little nervous and quickly came up with a bluff. "Uh… sewer surfing with the Turtles?"

Katara seemed to buy it. "Sounds neat. Well, except for the sewer part." She walked away, causing Aang to breath a huge sigh of relief.

* * *

 _Mai's House_

Zuko, Karai, Mai, and Ty-Lee stayed there the whole night. For the most part it's been pretty quiet as everyone just sat on the coach. They didn't really do much the whole night except sleeping when they could, though Karai could feel a sense of comfort and relaxation surrounded by these people.

"Prince Zuko, Ms. Karai."

They all turned and saw a Fire Nation servant at the doorway kneeling towards them. "Everyone's waiting for you."

"What?" Zuko asked.

"What do you mean?" Karai asked as well as all four walked toward him.

"The high admirals, the high generals, the war ministers, the princess; even Oroku Saki, his body guard Hun, and his Elite Guard, have all arrived." The servant explained. "You two are the only ones missing."

Karai was mildly surprised. Just yesterday it felt as though both she and Zuko we're unwelcomed, but now they we're waiting for them? It seemed Zuko also shared the surprise.

"So… my Dad wants me at the meeting?" Zuko asked, while Mai smiled toward him.

"Both of us?" Karai asked as well.

"The Fire Lord and The Shredder both agreed they would not start until you two arrived, sirs."

Karai and Zuko looked towards each other. Zuko had a smile, as did Mai and Ty-Lee. Though Karai had a look more of confusion on her face.

* * *

 _The Island_

Aang was in stealth-mode as he hid in the bushes. He rolled out and quickly hid behind a rock. He then stood straight up.

"Put em up Fire Lord and Shredder!"

Aang exclaimed this to a wooden dummy that had the noodle painting of Ozai's face on it, and a crude wooden figure of Shredder's helmet at the top, with a target painted on the bottom.

The overly stressed Avatar jumped into the air and made a series of air-kicks, which completely missed and flew over the dummy. The air gusts flew right at Don and Sokka, both working on Appa's armor. Don was able to jump out of the way, but Sokka was knocked down.

"Watch it Aang!" Don told him.

"Yeah we're trying to build Appa some armor so he doesn't have to go into the Invasion naked! He's _you're_ bison!"

Aang didn't seem to hear them as he faced the dummy. "Ozai's defense is impeccable, and Shredder could attack at any time! I have to try a different approach!"

He jumped into the air and gave a battle cry as he sent his fists forward, sending more air-blasts at the dummy, and each one still missed.

Leo observed the entire scene from his spot near the trees. He could tell that Aang was falling apart at the seems. He has never gotten a good night sleep these last three days and it's taking both a physical and a mental toll on him. At this rate, he wouldn't last ten seconds in the invasion.

"You two think you're both untouchable! Don't you!?" Aang exclaimed to the dummy.

"Boy, you are really starting to loose it kid." A new voice spoke up.

Aang turned around to see his pet lemur on the rock close to him. "Momo? Did you hear something?" Aang turned around to the dummy.

"No, but I said something."

Aang turned around with a flasturgated look on his face, as his lemur seemed to actually speak English.

"Raph was right, you _are_ one rib short of a barbeque." Momo told him.

Aang's jaw dropped. He backed away, shook his head, and covered his eyes. When he opened them he could see his beloved lemur giving chirps and not speaking actual words.

The boy breathed a sigh of relief. "That's more like it." He patted Momo's head. "I'm so tired that for a minute there I actually imagined that you we're taking to me."

Momo gave some chirps in response. "Oh Momo, let me explain." Aang then began to give his own chirps to Momo. It looked as though they we're having some kind of odd conversation.

The Turtles and the rest of Team Avatar only looked confused. "Oh boy. He's cracked. He's gone nuts." Mikey said, watching Aang loose it.

"Yep, it finally happened, Aang's lost his mind." Raph agreed with Mikey.

"He's not crazy." Katara tried.

"Katara, he's talking to a lemur." Don pointed out. "All the stress, and the sleepless hours are really getting to him."

"On top of that, the Invasion's tomorrow." Toph added.

"Why don't we just knock him out? It always works with Mikey." Raph suggested.

"Hey!" Mikey protested.

"No Raph, we're not knocking him out." Leo replied sternly.

"Come on lets try talking to him." Katara offered as the group, including Appa walked towards the half-crazed Avatar still having his 'conversation' with Momo.

"Aang." Katara got his attention. "We're all starting to get a little worried about you."

"You need to get some rest. You haven't slept in three days." Leo told him.

"You've been awake _way_ too long." Sokka added.

"Staying awake this long will have a negative effect on your mental health." Don pointed out.

"The Invasion is tomorrow and we need you at you're full strength." Mikey said.

"And you're acting downright weird." Toph added.

"I'm just gonna say it, you're nuts. You're gonna go completely insane if you don't get a grip kid." Raph said.

And strangely enough, Aang could see Appa standing upright and actually talking. "You've got to take care of yourself, you can't go on like this."

Aang gave an annoyed sigh. "Look, I appreciate what all you guys are saying, but the stress of the nightmares, they we're just too much. Staying awake is the best way for me to deal with it."

Momo then began to talk once again. "Yeah, leave the kid alone!"

Appa glared at Momo. "Hey, who asked you?"

The two 'talking' animals glared and growled at each other. Aang looked to try and break up the 'tension' taking place. "Guys, come on."

"No. I am sick of this guy mouthing off and always telling me what to do!" Appa said, glaring at Momo.

"Oh you don't like it? Well let's go right now!" Momo challenged.

Aang ran up to Leo and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Leo, what should we do?!"

"About what?" The oldest Turtle asked.

"About that!" Aang pointed to what he was seeing.

It looked like Momo was wearing a blue samurai's robe while Appa donned red samurai armor and wielded three large katanas. Momo drew his own katana as they both glared at each other.

Momo and Appa charged at each other and clashed their katanas. As they struggled against each other, locking their blades, they continued to glare towards each other. On top of that; it appeared as though the sheep had become sentient as well. Many cheered for Appa, the others cheered for Momo.

"Appa! Appa! Appa!"

"Momo! Momo! Momo!"

Appa took out four katanas total, one in each paw, and spun on his tail like a tornado of blades. Momo was able to block all the blades as he struggled.

Aang could see all of this and didn't like it. "Come on guys, we're all on the same side."

All of a sudden, he saw Guru Pahtik with six arms floating on a cloud. Two of his arms held the banana-onion juice cups, and he played a banjo with two of his other hands.

" _Chakras! Chakras! Everybody loves Chakras! Chakras! Chakras taste good! Yum!_

Appa and Momo continued to clash swords, with the sheep still cheering them on. Aang could also see lines of stone moving on their own like caterpillars; and even the dummy he'd been sparring on dancing.

"I need to jump into a cold waterfall!" Aang screamed. "I need…"

 ***SMACK!***

Aang fell on the ground, revealing Raph holding a broken tree branch, which he used as a club to knock out Aang.

Raph turned and saw Mikey, Don, and Sokka with wide eyes while Leo and Katara both glared with crossed arms. Toph just looked unfazed.

"What? Someone had to do it."

* * *

 _Later that night; Fire Nation Royal Palace_

The meeting had now just ended. The Generals, Admirals, War Ministers, and even Azula discussed some closing remarks with Hun and the Foot Elite. Karai and Zuko had both walked out into the hall where Mai and Ty-Lee waiting for them.

"Hey guys." Ty-Lee greeted with a smile.

"So how'd the meeting go?" Mai asked.

Zuko walked down the hall with Mai for a bit. "When I got to the meeting, everyone welcomed me, even members of the Foot. My father had saved me a seat, he wanted me next to him, I was literally at his right hand."

Mai smiled as she grabbed his shoulders. "Zuko, that's wonderful! You must be happy."

They both stopped at the royal portrait of Fire Lord Ozai. "During the meeting, I was the perfect prince. The son my father wanted." He looked down in shame. "But I wasn't me."

At the same time, Karai placed a hand on a wall as she let the details of what transpired at the meeting sink into her mind. Ty-Lee noticed this.

"Karai? What's wrong? You're aura is all twisted up; like all these mixed emotions going on inside you."

Karai's pupils shook for a minute before she finally spoke. "Ty-Lee. I need you to be completely honest with me. Am I good person?"

To say Ty-Lee was surprised would be an understatement. "What? Why would…?"

"Please, just answer it."

Ty-Lee grabbed Karai by the shoulder and looked at her in the eyes with an uncharacteristically serious expression. "Karai, you are one of the most good people I have ever met. I've seen you're aura; you're kind, you're noble, you're compassionate, and you're strong."

Karai's eyes shook. "Then how is it I feel this way?"

Ty-Lee answered. "Maybe because you've always been doing what you're father tells you, and not what you're heart tells you. Karai, I'm going to give you the best advice I can ever give: follow you're heart." She smiled. "And hey, no matter what happens, we're still friends. Don't ever forget that."

The acrobat hugged Karai one more time before walking away. Karai took the moment to think. Ty-Lee was right, everything Karai has done her whole life has all been in service to her father, that's all she's been, just a blade for him to use. She knew many of the things he did we're wrong before, but this, what went on in that meeting… she couldn't believe that he actually went along with it.

Her expression became serious as she clenched her fists. She decided to take Ty-Lee's advice. It was time to stop following her father, and time to start following her heart. And she knew the perfect person to help her with that.

* * *

 _The Island_

Aang had recovered from getting knocked out by Raph. Though he did feel the bump on his head. He trudged through a small fog cloud and came to a rock that appeared to have white fluff all over it.

The extremely tired Avatar looked surprised as he walked over to it. Aang felt along with his hands as he climbed onto it and inspected it.

"Oh look, another hallucination. An imaginary bed made out of clouds."

"Hey! It's real!" Toph exclaimed as she, Leo, Raph, Katara, Don, Sokka, and Mikey all stood together.

"Yeah we spent the hours you we're knocked out working on it." Mikey added. "Just ask the sheep." He pointed with his thumb over to the naked sheep that huddled together to stay warm.

"We made it for you. A good nights sleep should help take the crazy away, we hope." Sokka added.

Aang looked even more irritated. "Look, you guys keep telling me I need to sleep! But I can't! The Invasion's tomorrow!"

"All the more reason to get plenty of rest." Don stated. "You haven't slept really at all these four days. We need you at you're hundred percent."

"The only way I can get at a hundred percent is if I train!" Aang insisted.

"Kid, take a good look at yourself." Raph told him. "If you stay up one more night, you _will_ go insane! And knocking you out again is just gonna give you a concussion, so don't make me do it."

"You need to listen to them Aang." Katara told him.

"No Katara, _you_ need to listen! All of you!" Aang exclaimed. "There's still so much that I haven't learned! I don't need sleep! What I need is practice! Come on guys, hit me!"

"Oh believe me, I am _very_ tempted." Raph grunted.

"Aang. I'm going to ask you a question and I need you to be completely honest with me." Leo told him. "What is it about Ozai that you're so afraid of? Why are you so scared of him?"

"Cause he's the Fire Lord!" Aang responded. "He's way stronger than I am!"

"No he's not." Leo told him. "Think about it. He's a Firebender, he's the master of only _one_ element; you're the master of all four. Even if you don't know any Firebending you still have three elements over him; plus the eclipse is going to block all Firebending. He'll have no way to defend himself."

"But…" Aang tried but Leo still continued.

"Aang, have you ever stopped to consider the reason behind all his actions against you? He sends entire armies, armadas, and bounty hunters, even his own children to fight you. But he's never gone and fight you himself. If he we're so strong, don't you think he would have come to face you himself by now? But he hasn't. Not once. "

Aang listened more to what Leo said.

"Ozai has never come to fight you himself, because he _knows_ he can't beat you. He knows that you have the power to put him in his place. You have the power to defeat him, the power to end his reign permanently, and he knows this. That's why he's sent entire armies after you. Ozai is afraid of you."

Aang was completely caught off-guard by that. "He's… afraid of me?"

"Yeah, and he should be." Raph added on. "Kid, you've literally got the world in your hands, you can do almost anything! Ozai is scared to death of you. You're his worst nightmare come true. And we're gonna see the terrified look on his smug face when you whop his ass tomorrow." Raph finished with a smirk.

"They're right Aang." Katara said as she lightly embraced his shoulder. "We've all seen you're progress. You're smart, brave, and strong enough."

Aang took all these words to heart. "You guys really think so?"

"We all do." Sokka responded with a smile. "You can do this, you're ready."

"You're the Avatar, Aang." Don said with his own smile. "You're the guardian of this planet, the one destined to end this war."

"You're the man Twinkle Toes!" Toph gave thumbs up.

"You're a full-blown super hero Aang." Mikey stated enthusiastically. "And super heroes _always_ win!"

"But… what about Shredder?" Aang asked.

"Aang, you leave Shredder to me and my brothers." Leo told him. "We've beaten him before, we can do it again. You just focus on Ozai. You can and _will_ beat him."

Aang took all their words to heart. "Thanks guys." He yawned as Katara led him to the soft-make-shift bed and he lay down. "You know what? I think I am ready."

The young Avatar drifted off into sleep.

* * *

 _Dream World_

Aang walked down a dark hallway, garbed in his traditional Air Nomad clothing. He opened a doorway as he came to a demonic throne room where The Shredder sat on a throne of skulls.

"Greetings Avatar. Are you ready to meet your end?"

Aang shook his head. "No. Are you?"

Shredder laughed. "I do not believe you appreciate the forces I have united against you!"

As soon as Shredder said that; a large army of Fire Nation soldiers and Foot Ninja all walked out of the shadows and quickly surrounded Aang. This didn't phase the Avatar in the least as he looked up towards Shredder.

"I'm not afraid of you."

The Shredder stood up from his throne and walked towards the Avatar. "You speak as a fool, boy."

"I'm not the fool, because this is all just a dream. You are not the Shredder, just a figment of my imagination! I will defeat the Fire Lord and the Turtles _will_ defeat you!"

Dream-Shredder raised his claws.

"I will never give up!" Aang declared as Dream-Shredder tried to slash at him, but when he made contact his entire body faded into mist. The entire throne room, and all its occupants faded into mist as well. The dream shifted into a more pleasant environment.

Aang now stood on an empty open platform of his old home, the Southern Air Temple as it laid on a sunny day. "That's more like it."

However, Aang soon noticed something odd. A stream of fire appeared in front of him, on his right appeared a gust of wind, on his left was a rising puddle of liquid metal, behind him on his right was a rising puddle of water, and behind him on his left was a rising mound of clay and dirt. These figures then took the shape of the Foot Mystics that quickly surrounded Aang.

"This one is more powerful is than we imagined." The Water Mystic observed as all five began to hover in the air. Aang made a combat stance, ready to fight

"No matter. He is but one to our five." The Metal Mystic stated as they began to attack.

Each of the Mystics thrusted their staffs downward towards him and each shot a stream of their respective element; a stream of fire, a twister of wind, a stream of clay and earth, a stream of water, and a stream of liquid metal.

Aang waited for the right moment when he jumped to avoid all the attacks that exploded on the surface. He was able to land on the ground close to the edge where he shot straight up and flew past the Mystics and landed at the very top of the mountain.

"Man. I must have been _really_ stressed to dream something this crazy." Aang said to himself, convinced that this was all part of a dream.

He was not aware though that this wasn't just a dream, but the Foot Mystics trying to attack his mind.

The five Mystics reappeared again and once more surrounded him. "Ignorant child. You cannot comprehend the forces you are dealing with!" The Fire Mystic declared as he and the other mystics raised their staffs high and they each became a living stream of their respective element.

They all circled Aang in a gigantic mystic-elemental sphere of fire, water, metal, earth, and wind.

"I could say the same to you." Aang stated as he sat down and meditated. As the sphere began to condense around him, Aang's tattoos began to glow. His eyes shot open to reveal them glowing white as he outstretched his hands. A large white light exploded around him; blasting away the sphere and the Mystic Ninjas with it.

"NOOOO!" All five shouted as they we're expelled from the dream world.

* * *

 _Reality_

Aang slept peacefully on his bed with a smile on his face.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se; Mystic Shrine_

All five Foot Mystics fell to their knees in exhaustion as they're spell had been broken. They we're beaten on the astral plane and expelled back to reality

"The Avatar. He does hold great power." The Wind Mystic said.

"Nonetheless, he is convinced that everything, even his battle against us was merely a dream, nothing more." The Water Mystic pointed out.

"While we failed in our attempt to break him, we did learn many secrets of the Avatar." The Metal Mystic said. "Secrets that could be potentially useful to us."

"Yes, this boy could be the key." The Earth Mystic said. "But for now, it is best that all we do is merely observe."

"Indeed." The Fire Mystic agreed. "For tomorrow, many things will change. Multiple forces shall collide in a battle that will change the face of this world. A once great empire shall fall, and darkness shall rise that will forever blot out the light in this world!"

* * *

 _Fire Nation Capital, Zuko's quarters_

Zuko sat on his bed. He couldn't sleep as he was thinking. The only reason he was even here in the first place, here in the Fire Nation at his father's right hand was Shredder's threat to kill everyone he knew if he didn't help in the fall of Ba-Sing-Se. Zuko had been blind for a long while, but it was only after coming home that he was able to finally see clearly. Ironic.

He had come to a decision. He knew what he wanted to do next. Before he could think of anything else, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal Karai, who carried a long object across her back covered in cloth. "You're awake."

"So are you." Zuko observed.

Karai closed the door behind her. "Zuko, I need to speak to you."

"I need to say something to you to." Zuko responded.

"I've decided to leave…." They both said at the same time. "What?" They questioned each other simultaneously.

"You go first." Zuko told her

"No, you go first. I insist." Karai replied.

Zuko sighed. "Alright. Tomorrow, I'm leaving the Fire Nation." Karai was surprised to hear that. "I also plan on joining the Avatar and the Turtles. Oh, and the Avatar's alive"

"I know." Karai responded, causing Zuko to look in surprise this time.

"What?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Karai began. "My father's spies caught you making a deal with that bounty hunter. He learned the Avatar was alive, so he sent his own agents to deal with that bounty hunter and to stall the Avatar as well as the Turtles who travel with them."

Zuko was still surprised, but he noticed something in what Karai said. "Wait, you said 'stall', as in to keep busy. But not kill. I ordered my assassin to kill the Avatar."

"I am aware." Karai said. "Though you probably shouldn't say that to the Avatar if you intend to join him." She attempted a joke; to which Zuko gave a humorous smile.

"But getting back to the point." Karai resumed. "Our agents were meant to stall the Turtles and the Avatar, because the Foot needs them alive for tomorrow. I am aware of what Fire Lord Ozai has planned, but you should be aware of what Shredder has planned as well."

Karai then began to tell Zuko everything. She told him of what Shredder's goal was, why he kept the Avatar and Turtles alive, and what his plans we're for tomorrow. Zuko's eyes shook as Karai told him everything. He had to sit down on his bed and let all the information process. Karai allowed him to think on this.

"I… I don't… he… but…" Zuko stuttered. "I can't believe this."

"I am sorry, but that is the truth." Karai told him.

"I'm assuming then that there's nothing we can do to stop it." Zuko guessed.

"That is correct." Karai confirmed. "Anything we do at this point will only add fuel to the fire. What will happen tomorrow is unavoidable. Knowing this, do you still intend to leave and join those who we're once you're enemies?"

Zuko looked at her with a serious expression. "Yes."

Karai then became serious as well. "Then I will come with you."

"What?"

"I intend to leave the Foot. Something I should have done long ago." Karai explained. "I had thought they understood honor, but I know now that I was wrong. The only thing they understand is destruction; they will wipe out whoever stands in their way. I was only a fool to believe otherwise."

"I was an idiot myself for thinking the Fire Nation was a mighty empire. I guess that makes us both idiots." Zuko joked.

Karai gave an amused smile. "Then we will leave tomorrow."

"What about Mai and Ty-Lee? Should we take them with us?" Zuko asked.

"I had some time to think about that." Karai responded. "Initially I thought that we should, but I realize that they'd be safer here."

"Are you sure about that?" Zuko asked.

"I am." Karai replied. "My father's plan does not involve them. To him they are unimportant and are not worth dealing with. Its best if they stay that way. Do not get me wrong, I would like it for them to come with us, but we cannot guarantee their safety, not from the Shredder."

"I don't like the idea of leaving them here." Zuko sighed. "But you're right. If we do this, everyone is going to think we're traitors. We can't drag them into this." He noticed the object slung across her back. "What's that?"

Karai put on a certain metal glove and removed it from her back; revealing a very special sword to the prince.

"This Zuko is my father's greatest weapon. The Sword of Tengu."

Zuko took the moment to look at it. "I don't think I've seen a sword like this before."

"It is the most powerful weapon the Foot has ever created. My father used it long ago to singlehandedly conquer an entire nation." Karai revealed.

To say Zuko was surprised would be an understatement. "Wait… are you serious?!"

"Deathly serious." Karai responded. "In my father's hands; the Sword of Tengu could spell the end for this world. However, if it we're in the hands of someone else, say the Avatar…"

Zuko caught hint of what Karai was saying. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

"So we are in agreement?" Karai asked as Zuko nodded. "Then we leave tomorrow. You should get some sleep, I'll stay here and keep watch."

Zuko smiled. "Thanks Karai."

She smiled back. "Thank you as well, Zuko"

Unknown to both of them; two Foot Tech Ninjas hung in the hall outside Zuko's bedroom. They both looked towards each other and nodded before vanishing.

* * *

 _Main Foot Chambers_

Oroku Saki yelled as he punched a hole into the wall. He turned to the two Foot Tech Ninjas bowing to him.

"Are you certain?!" He growled.

"Yes Master Shredder. We heard it all." A Foot Tech Ninja replied.

Oroku Saki growled. "Karai cannot betray us!"

Hun was also in the room. He couldn't help but smirk though as he never liked Karai. "We should have seen this coming, Master. What would you have me do then? Shall I kill them?"

"You underestimate them Hun." Oroku Saki told him. "And besides, we need you for tomorrow."

"Master Shredder. They are both aware they cannot stop what is to come on the Day of Black Sun." The second Foot Tech Ninja informed. "Everything is already in place."

Oroku Saki managed to calm himself. "It may require a _minor_ alteration in our plans; but it still remains the same."

"Everything is on schedule, Master." Hun said. "Stockman and Chaplin have sent our special weapon and it should be here by tomorrow. All our agents are in their right spots. And the best part; no one, not that idiot Ozai, or that little brat Azula; or even the Turtles and the Avatar are aware of what's happening."

"Of course they're not." Oroku Saki smiled. "No one is ready for what comes next."

 **Done.**

 **Wow. This chapter was a lot longer than what I thought it was going to be. I hope you all enjoyed it.**

 **But hold onto your shells. The Day of Black Sun (part 1) is coming up next. I'll be splitting it in two parts like in the show, just so I don't feel overwhelmed when writing it.**

 **Shredder is right, no one is ready for what's coming. Things are going to be quite different from what happened in the cannon series. But no spoilers. You'll see what happens.**

 **Expect to see many familiar faces as several allies of both Team Avatar and the Ninja Turtles join together in a battle that will change the face of the Avatar World.**

 **Be prepared!**


	23. Day of Black Sun:Fall of the Fire Nation

**Hi everyone. This is it; this is what you have all been waiting for. Part 1 of the Invasion, baby! From here we'll see many allies of Team Avatar and the Ninja Turtles coming together to face the Fire Nation. However, things are going to be slightly different as there are certain individuals who will be using this to their advantage. I appreciate everyone's patience and now without further wait, I present the long-awaited chapter.**

 **Day of Black Sun – Fall of The Fire Nation**

It was early morning as our heroes have woken up on the island outside the Fire Nation capital, this was the day where they would meet up with their friends and invade the Fire Nation. The Turtles had thrown away their hooded robes, and probably wouldn't need them for today. Sokka and Katara had donned blue Water Tribe clothes, with Katara's hair hanging down and her mother's necklace back on. Toph had her old Earth Kingdom clothes on as well

Sokka and Donatello we're currently looking over some of the maps and plans for the Invasion. Mikey twirled his nunchucks for a bit before putting them away, Katara walked up to him and handed him a cup of water, which he took with a smile. Raph and Toph sat together while Leo finished sharpening his katanas before sheeting them.

A certain young monk hopped up to the group. "Top of the morning, Momo." Aang greeted his lemur with a smile.

"Someone's looking better." Don observed with a grin.

"Sounds like you slept well, Aang." Katara saw with her own smile.

"Yep, like a baby-moose-lion." Aang replied, feeling completely rested after a good night sleep.

"That's good, wouldn't want you acting all loco again before fighting an entire army." Raph joked a bit.

"Don't worry Raph." Aang assured. "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord! Heck, I feel like I can even take on Shredder!"

"Don't get too cocky Aang." Leo warned with teasing grin.

"So what's you're plan to take down the Fire Lord?" Mikey asked. "You gonna pound him into he ground till he says uncle?"

"Or you gonna get you're glow on and hit him with a little Avatar State action?" Toph eagerly asked while motioning punches.

"I can't." Aang revealed, looking down. "When Shredder stabbed me back in Ba-Sing-Se, my Seventh Charka was locked, cutting my connection off with all the cosmic energy in the universe."

Toph looked a little bored. "You know what I just heard?" She mimicked a talking mouth with her hand. "Blah-blah, spiritual mumbo jumbo, blah-blah something about space."

"So, you can't go into the Avatar State?" Raph asked.

"No." Aang confirmed.

"Well, can't you just unlock this Seventh Chakra so you can?" Don asked.

Leo winced a bit, remembering their visit with the Guru and what needed to be done to unlock this particular Chakra.

"It'll take too long Don." Aang said.

"I guess we'll just have to make due then." Leo informed.

Mikey looked over the horizon and saw something. "Uh oh. Hey everyone, we got a slight problem!"

Everyone looked in the direction the orange-clad Turtle pointed towards and saw a massive blanket of fog heading towards them.

"Oh no. Sokka, do you think the fog will delay the invasion?" Katara asked.

Sokka got a closer look. "No, that _is_ the invasion!"

Coming out of the fog we're several Water Tribe ships. In the lead ship we're Hakoda and Bato, both wearing Southern Water Tribe battle armor, and along side them stood Master Splinter as he looked to where his sons we're.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Capital_

Azula had walked out of her personal quarters, having changed into dark Fire Nation battle armor, and proceeded to walk down the hallway to her intended destination. However, as she turned she did not expect to see two Foot Ninja standing in her path.

"Ninjas of the Foot." Azula greeted simply. "I'm sure you're eager to chat, but I have somewhere to be so…" She attempted to walk past them, but one Ninja stepped to the side, blocking her.

Azula looked a bit confused but tried to walk around him, only for the Ninja to block her again. This was repeated a couple of times and the Ninja blocked her each time. Now she was getting irritated.

"Would you kindly step aside?" Azula asked sounding annoyed.

"We cannot do that." The Foot Ninja replied. "There has been a minor change in plans, Princess."

Azula looked behind to see three more Foot Ninja coming from the other side of the hall, and two more on her left. She found herself surrounded by seven Foot Ninja in total.

"What is this? I demand to know what is going on!" Azula insisted as she took a combat stance, expecting the worst.

"Ease yourself Princess." Another Ninja said. "This is for your own protection."

As soon as that was said, the Ninja that was directly behind Azula pulled out a pistol-like device and shot it at her. A small dart hit her in the back of her neck, causing her to give a slight grunt as she reached and pulled out the dart. Once she saw it, her field of vision started to become blurry.

"Wha… what are you…?!" Azula became dizzy as she lost her footing and fell to the ground, using her hands to support her.

"Do not struggle." One Foot Ninja said. "It is only a tranquilizer, you'll be asleep for sometime." Azula's vision began to fade. "Do not worry, everything will be fine."

Azula was completely unconscious as she laid on the floor. She was quickly picked up by one Foot Ninja and thrown over his shoulder before the lead Ninja accessed his comns.

"Master Shredder, we have the Princess. The Tranquilizer should keep her unconscious for twelve hours."

" _Excellent."_ Shredder's voice replied back on the comns. _"See to it she is secure, and get into position. Stay out of sight until instructed."_

"Yes Master." The lead Ninja cut off the comns. "Foot Ninja, disappear." All seven Foot Ninja leaped and vanished into the shadows with the unconscious Azula.

* * *

 _The Island_

Aang, Leo, Toph, Katara, Raph, Mikey, Sokka, and Don we're on the beach of the island as Toph and Aang used their Earthbending to raise a few docks to allow the ships to port.

Hakoda and Master Splinter we're the first ones to leave the ships as they we're greeted by all four Turtles as well as Katara and Sokka.

"You made it Dad!" Katara hugged her father as the Turtles greeted their own father.

"Sensei!" Leo greeted as all four bowed to the rat-master, who bowed in response.

"It is good to see you all as well my sons." Master Splinter greeted. "I trust your time in the Fire Nation was well-spent."

"Boy, you don't know the _half_ of it!" Mikey stated.

"So, did you guys get everyone we told you to find?" Sokka asked.

"We did, and then some." Hakoda said in response as two more individuals exited the boats.

The first was Casey Jones who had his red sleeveless-shirt and blue pants carrying a golf-club bag filled with hokey sticks, baseball bats, cricket bats, and golf clubs, and his Hockey mask above his head. The second was April O'neil who wore a black and grey suit with a katana sheathed in her back.

"Casey!" Raph greeted as he high-fived his bro. "Long time no see you bone-head."

"Yeah right, you're the bone-head green boy." Casey cracked back.

"Good to see you April." Don greeted. "You guys got everyone needed, right?"

"Yes we did." April answered. "Though Don, I'm a bit nervous about some of them. They're not exactly what I had in mind for soldiers."

The group saw two of the Swampbenders walk out of the ship. "Ooohey!" The skinniest Swampbender, Due, looked impressed as he looked around. "This place ain't nothing like the swamp." He saw a rock. "What'c you reckon that is Tho? Some sort of Fire Nation trap that explode and eat ya?"

"It's just a rock, Due." Tho told him.

"Well, I'll be."

While the Turtles went off to greet their other allies; April, Casey, Katara, Splinter, Hakoda, and Sokka looked a bit confused at these guys.

"Where did you find these guys again?" April asked.

"From a swamp, long story." Katara replied.

"Is it just me, or are those fellas a little loose in the leaf-hat?" Hakoda asked.

"It ain't just you." Casey agreed.

"They are more in-tuned with nature than most of the warriors here." Splinter said. "Though I do see you're point."

"I just wish they would wear pants." Bato said as he joined the group, looking at the third half-naked Swampbender, Hue.

"Pants are an illusion." Hue scratched his belly. "And so is death."

This resulted in even more confused looks from everyone, eve Master Splinter looked a bit disturbed slightly.

More and more allies we're coming to greet our heroes; Leo was the first to recognize two of them. The one in front had the appearance of a humanoid rabbit wearing a blue and black samurai gi and two sheathed katanas on his side, behind him was a larger humanoid rhino with a white samurai gi and a sheathed katana at his side as well.

"Usagi!" Leo greeted as he bowed.

"It is good to see you as well Leonardo-san." Usagi, the humanoid rabbit, bowed back.

Aang and his friends gathered to greet him. "Aang, this is Usagi and his friend Gen." Leo introduced. "They're both samurai warriors, and personal friends of mine."

"Avatar, it is an honor to make you're acquaintance." Usagi bowed to Aang

"Thanks, the honor is mine to." Aang bowed back.

Gen, the humanoid rhino, spat off to the side. "So the fate of this world is depended on some kid, huh?"

"He's not just some kid, Gen, and we are going to battle for his whole world so you could show a little more respect." Usagi told his friend.

"Fine, but I expect a lot of food after this." Gen replied.

While they greeted, someone familiar to Team Avatar joined in. "Katara." A young man greeted, dressed in Earth Kingdom robes, with a small beard and mustache.

"Haru, its so good to see you!" Katara hugged him. Leo, Aang, Toph, Mikey, and Raph joined up as well.

"Guys, this is Haru." Aang introduced. "When we met him, his town was controlled by the Fire Nation. So he had to hide his Earthbending."

"That couldn't have been easy." Leo assumed.

"Believe me, it wasn't." Haru replied. "But Katara, inspired me and my father to take back our village."

As Katara blushed, Haru's father Tyro, a larger bald man with a white beard joined them. "You helped us find our courage Katara. No we're here to help you."

"I certainly believe that." Mikey nudged Katara on the side. "This girl knows how to inspire people." Katara blushed further at his complement.

Toph soon felt something with her seismic sense that caught her attention. "No way!" She took an Earthbending stance as Raph turned to see what was going on. "Is that…" But a large overweight man wearing a small green cape and green shorts suddenly picked up Toph.

"Hippo happy to see Blind Bandit!" The Hippo greeted.

"'Hippo'?" Raph questioned but he saw someone else behind him, a smaller, but more well built tan man with Earth Kingdom clothes as well. "You two are those clowns that tried to deck Toph, aren't you?!"

"They sure are." Toph confirmed. "You guys here for a rematch?!"

"Cause if you are, I'll beat you senseless!" Raph swore as he took out his sais.

"Negatory Turtle-man." The second man known as the Boulder responded to Raph. "The Boulder and the Hippo no longer fight for others entertainment. Now, we fight for our kingdom!"

Raph and Toph both smiled. "Sweet." They responded at the same time.

"Yes, it is what one could consider 'sweet', isn't it?" A new voice spoke up as Toph was put down. This came from a being larger than even the Hippo. A large humanoid orange-skinned Triceratops wearing a gladiator outfit, with a sheathed axe and an energy gatling-gun along his back.

"Traximus." Raph greeted. "How's it hanging horn-head?"

"It is good to see you as well, my friend." Traximus responded as Toph walked up towards them.

"So, you're that alien gladiator guy Raph told me about?" Toph asked as Raph told her before about the whole mess with the Triceratons.

"Indeed." Traximus replied. "And I have heard tales of the mighty Blind Bandit. You use you're disability to an advantage to gain an ability others do not. I am impressed, you have the qualities of a true Triceraton warrior." He ruffled her hair.

"Awesome." Toph smiled as she and Raph both fist-bumped with Traximus' larger fist.

Sokka, Hakoda, and Don both saw the interactions between their teams along with Haru, Tyro, Usagi, Gen, the Boulder, the Hippo, and Traximus.

"You guys have some weird friends." Sokka told Don with a joking smile.

"I could say the same for you." Don replied with his own joke.

There was a small explosion from one boat, which alerted the three, as well as Aang and Leo, to run towards it as quickly as possible.

The boat opened to reveal smoke as Leatherhead stepped out and helped up an elderly man with glasses, green clothes, and a white apron; both of them we're covered in orange dust.

"Are you alright my friend?" Leatherhead asked as he helped the Mechanist out.

"I'll survive." The Mechanist responded as he coughed.

A boy in a long wheel chair rolled out onto the stone dock, followed by a robotic-humanoid with green eyes. Leatherhead and the Mechanist followed soon with Leatherhead, Pipsqueak, and the Duke right behind them as Leo, Aang, Sokka, Don, and Hakoda made it.

"Are you guys alright?" Don asked with concern.

"We are fine. I do apologize for giving you quite the scare." The robotic Professor Honeycutt answered.

"Well, was that a new invention?" Sokka asked.

"Yes." The Mechanist answered as his group met with the others. "But, unfortunately the incendiary capabilities of peanut sauce proved to be a failure."

"You're making peanut sauce bombs?" Leo asked.

"Their destructive." Pipsqueak said as he licked the sauce from his face.

"And delicious." The Duke added as he licked the sauce from his face as well. Momo soon jumped to both of them and licked the sauce from their faces, resulting in them laughing.

"Sokka, Aang, this is Professor Honeycutt." Don introduced the robotic man to their friends. "He's one of the smartest men in our entire universe."

"Nice to meet you professor." Aang shook the Fugitoid's metal hand.

"The feeling is mutual Avatar Aang." Professor Honeycutt replied.

"So, did you guys manage to complete the work on the plans Don and I sent you?" Sokka asked the Mechanist and Leatherhead.

"Yes, we have managed to complete what you requested." Leatherhead answered.

"And I'm certain the Fire Nation will be quite surprised." The Mechanist added. "But of course both Leatherhead and Professor Honeycutt have been a big help to me."

Teo rolled his wheel chair up towards Aang with a staff in hand. "Aang, my dad and I made this for you."

Aang took the staff in his hands and it opened up to reveal it to be a glider with blue wings on it. "A new glider! This is amazing!"

"Indeed." Leatherhead began. "You'll find this one to be more dynamic than the previous one. In addition the wings are also made from a special lightweight metal, making it faster and more maneuverable, and I guarantee that this one will not burn."

"And as a special feature, I added a snack compartment." The Mechanist said as he opened a small hatch and a few minor snacks fell out.

"Oh, well I'm sure that'll come in handy." Aang was unsure a bit. "But thanks for all the upgrades Leatherhead."

"My pleasure, my young friend." The mutant alligator responded with an honest smile.

"Leonardo, I also have a similar device for you as well." Professor Honeycutt provided Leo with a small metal backpack.

The blue-clad Turtle slung it over and compartments on its side opened up to reveal a pair of blue energy wings, shaped like those in Aang's new glider.

"This device will allow you to glide in the wind as well, and it has a small thermal jet pack on the end to get you into the air and an increase in speed." Honeycutt explained.

"Thank you professor." Leo responded with a bow.

"Hey, why do you need a glider Leo?" Aang asked.

"I'll explain when we explain the whole plan to the Invasion Force." Leo answered.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Capital; Prison Tower_

Iroh continued to sit in his cell as a male guard filed his own nails. "I'll bet you're tired of being in this cell old man." The guard mocked. "Well too bad, you're never stepping outside these walls again."

A female guard walked in carrying a tray of food. "Breakfast."

The male guard stood up. "Careful Ming, don't get too close. His stench will knock you right out." He mocked with a laugh as he walked out.

Ming scowled in his direction before turning to Iroh to hand him the tray. "I snuck in some white-jade-tea. I know you like rare teas."

"Thank you Ming." Iroh thanked as he took the teacup. "Ever since I was put in here, you have been very kind to me."

* * *

 _The Island_

The small army consisting of Southern Water Tribe warriors, Earth Kingdom Soldiers, and Swampbenders all sat in front of a large stone stage. In front of them sat Usagi, Gen, Traximus, and Leatherhead.

On the left of the stone stage sat Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, Hakoda, and Professor Honeycutt; while on the right side sat Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey, April, Casey, and Splinter.

Hakoda looked to his son. "Don't worry, you'll do great."

Sokka began to think for a bit, and as he saw certain individuals in the Invasion Force, specifically the large mutants and aliens, he gulped and decided against it. He looked to the other side and saw Leo and gave him a look that told him to take the stage, a look of desperate pleading.

Leo understood as he stood up to address the crowd, with Master Splinter by his side. Sokka felt a bit relieved, but at the same time a bit upset at him.

"Alright, thank you all for coming." Leo began. "As you all know, we are going to invade the Fire Nation today, on the Day of Black Sun. However, for those of you who don't know, the situation has become slightly more complicated."

"Indeed." Master Splinter began as well. "The Fire Nation has received aid from a very dangerous and more ruthless enemy. A powerful organization of ninja known as the Foot, their leader goes by the name, The Shredder."

Gen spat again to the side. "Ninja scum." Usagi nudged his side, causing the rhino samurai to realize what he just said. "Oh uh, no offense guys." He said to the Ninja Turtles on stage.

"Please continue." Usagi encouraged.

"Thank you." Leo thanked as he turned to the Fugitoid. "Professor Honeycutt." The Fugitoid's eyes began to glow as they shot out a three-dimensional holographic picture of the Fire Nation capital.

Leo then began to address the crowd. "There are two main points to this Invasion. The first is by sea, and the second is by ground." The professor's hologram shifted to view a statue of Fire Lord Azulon. "This will be our first obstacle in Stage One: The Great Gates of Azulon." The Fugitoid's hologram shifted to show a three dimensional version of the beach. "Then we hit the beach shortly after that. Once we hit land, we go in swords blazing."

Leo pointed to different points in the hologram as the Fugitoid shifted it to follow Leo's plans. "Keep in mind. The first thing we're going to face will be the Fire Nation army, but the Foot soldiers will hide themselves in the shadows, using stealth to their advantage."

"Then how do we fight them?" Traximus asked.

"We all stay together as one massive group. A single unit, one to draw out the Foot Ninja into the open." Master Splinter explained. "No one leaves the group alone. Professor Honeycutt has developed communication devices which will be given to the leaders of the Invasion force."

Leo then resumed his explanation. "Once the fighting starts, we keep moving straight past the Fire Nation battlements and take the Plaza tower." He pointed to the spots on the hologram. "Once that's done, we work our way up the volcano and right to the Royal Palace, at that point the eclipse will begin."

"Excuse me." The Boulder got Leo's attention. "The Boulder is confused. Is it the point to invade _during_ the eclipse? When the Firebenders are powerless."

"Unfortunately, the eclipse will last only eight minutes, not nearly enough time for the whole invasion. The Royal Palace will be crawling with Firebenders, which is where we will need the eclipse the most." Leo answered.

"In addition the Foot forces are not Firebenders, the eclipse will not affect them in the slightest." Master Splinter added. "However I warn you, do not underestimate them. They may not be benders, but they are arguably more dangerous."

"Master Splinter here, and Chieftain Hakoda will be the leaders of the Invasion force." Leo said. "While everyone here is on the beaches a small, two-man strike team composed of myself and Avatar Aang will take part in a small incursion to face both Fire Lord Ozai and the Shredder."

Aang, Raph, Katara, Sokka, Mikey, Don, and even Toph looked surprised at that.

"Once this is finished, our enemies will be defeated." Master Splinter stated. "There are many different individuals here today, but now we fight as one. Look out for one another as if they we're your brothers. Today is the day that this war ends, and the Fire Nation and the Foot are defeated!" Splinter raised his fist, resulting in the whole Invasion Force cheering.

* * *

 _A few moments later_

Team Avatar and the Ninja Turtles all spent their last few moments on the island gathering their gear and weapons. Katara filled two water satchels on her back with her Waterbending. Don twirled his staff before sliding it behind his back. Mikey checked his nunchucks before putting them away. Toph put on her gear, which included spiked armbands and a circular hat. Raph twirled and sharpened his sais before putting them away. Hakoda placed on his wolf-helmet. Appa was dressed in red and gold armor as he gave a mighty roar. Leo practiced some sword swings before putting his katanas back in their sheath. Finally Master Splinter sat on his knees in meditation before standing up with a look of determination in his eyes.

Aang had now put on some new clothes. He kept the brown bottom of his Fire Nation disguise while putting on a loose yellow and orange top of his Air Nomad colors. He finished shaving his head, to reveal his full Air Nomad tattoos. He held his staff as the Avatar faced the ocean. He was joined by a blue-clad Turtle.

"Welcome back, Avatar Aang." Leo told him.

"Glad to be back." Aang still had a question. "You're coming with me?"

"Yep. That's why I had Professor Honeycutt make me this glider." Leo gestured to the pack on his shell. "The Shredder and the Fire Lord are most likey to be in the same place together when the eclipse starts."

"But, wouldn't it be better if your brothers came with us and we all attack together?" Aang asked.

"No." Leo answered. "They'll be leading the Invasion force with Master Splinter and Hakoda, and our friends will need them more than we will."

"Are you sure we can take them if its just the two of us?" Aang questioned. "I tried to fight Shredder before and look where it got me."

"I know." Leo responded. "But with the eclipse, Ozai will be powerless. So you and I will take him down first, then we'll gang up on Shredder together. You've improved significantly since last you fought him, and I'll be watching you're back the whole time. We can do this Aang."

Aang gave a smile. "Leo, thanks. You and the others have always given me as much support as my friends have. I can't thank you enough."

"Yo don't have to thank me Aang." Leo responded with his own smile as he put a hand on his shoulder. "We're more than allies, we're brothers. And brothers look out for each other."

"Thanks, brother."

* * *

 _Fire Nation Capital; Zuko's quarters._

Karai kept watch by the door in case any Foot soldiers would make an appearance. Her outfit was slightly different than normal. It was mostly black with dark blue shoulder-pads that stretched down to her dark grey sash and it extended even further slightly down her legs. She had grey arm pads and ankle pads as well as a red headband. She carried two sheathed katanas, and the Sword of Tengu behind her back as well. This outfit had no symbol of the Foot clan on it, she was walking away from that organization for good.

Meanwhile, Zuko had discarded his Fire Nation royal armor for a red tunic and even took out his crown to let his hair fall out. He then sat down as he began to write a letter.

* * *

 _The Island_

Sokka stood on a small cliffside, overlooking the port where pretty much everyone was boarding the boats. He wore his Water Tribe armor with his space-sword while looking at his wolf-helmet.

"Sokka!" He turned around to see Don running up towards him. "We've been looking for you. Everyone's ready to leave."

"I messed up Don." Sokka sighed.

"Messed up? How?" Don asked.

"The Invasion was my plan, that plan was my moment of truth, and I blew it." Sokka began. "I didn't even get a chance to speak, I just chickened out. Some warrior I am."

Don walked up and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sokka, that speech was not anyone's moment of truth. Anyone can speak in front crowds at any time; words don't define a person, action does. You're moment of truth is going to be out there on the battlefield."

"You know, before you guys came along, I always thought I was the leader." Sokka said. "But after we met you and your brothers, Leo's always taken charge. He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, the right plan; he's always pulling us out of trouble. When I see him I realize that I was never a true leader, I only did it just to get some respect. Leo's the real leader, like my dad."

"You're not giving yourself enough credit Sokka." Don told him. "True Leo is a leader, but you are to. He just has the most experience considering he's the oldest of four brothers. But you've got your skills to. I also know a leader when I see one, and you're _are_ a leader."

"You seem so confident." Sokka said. "How do you know if we're gonna win, especially if Shredder is as bad as you've been saying he is."

"I don't." Don began. "The truth is Sokka, no one really knows how a battle is going to go. The only thing we can do is give it our all. And that's what I'm going to do. What about you?"

Sokka took a moment to think before he became serious. "Lets do this."

* * *

The boats had all left the island and began their trip towards the Capital. Five Water Tribe boats all sailed across the water. The lead boat contained Leo, April, Hakoda, Casey, Bato, and Master Splinter, with a small number of Swampbenders.

Leo looked through a telescope and spotted their fist obstacle. "There it is. The Great Gates of Azulon."

April looked through a pair of binoculars and all she saw was just a statue of Azulon in the middle of the water and two dragon statues along a cliffside. "What gates? I don't see anything."

"The Fire Nation is not so overconfident that they would leave their capital unprotected." Master Splinter advised. "Just because we cannot see something doesn't mean it isn't there."

Hakoda put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Katara, you and the Swampbenders whip up a fog cover."

"We'll sneak by them statues just like we sneak by that Fire Navy blockade." Tho declared.

Katara and the Swampbenders got into position and used their Waterbending to create a cloud of fog that completely covered the small fleet. They slowly proceeded closer to the gates as the statue of Azulon came into view.

Mikey, Raph, Toph, Don, Sokka, and Aang we're on another boat, as they got closer. "Hmm, so far so good." Mikey said.

"Keep it up, we're almost through!" Hakoda said to all the Waterbenders.

Leo had a bad feeling. "Wait for it." He muttered to himself.

Right when he said that, a bell alarm went off as machines in the dragon statues began to lift a large net out of the water, which then lit on fire, creating a literal firewall to block their path.

"Uh, I think we found the gates." Casey said.

Don looked over to the west side and spotted a group of Fire Nation soldiers on jet-skis heading for them. "Soldiers incoming!"

"Just as we have planned." Splinter observed. "Now is the time to move!"

"Agreed! Everyone below deck!" Hakoda ordered as everyone in all the boats went below deck in their respective rides. Hakoda put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Lets hope you're invention works" He said before the two both went below deck with the others.

* * *

A few moments later, the Fire Nation jet skis all pulled up to all the boats as the soldiers quickly leapt onto the boats via grappling hooks. They we're Firebenders and any non-benders had a dao sword on him.

As one squad boarded a boat, they quickly ran down below deck and searched all the rooms, only to find no one was there. All the other squads in the remaining boats had the same issue.

"No one's on board sir." A soldier reported to the commanding officer.

"Where'd they go?"

"Wait, what's that?" A third soldier heard something. When it was quiet, they all heard the same thing as well. It sounded like some kind of beeping and it was coming from a corner of the room.

One soldier went to investigate as he moved aside some boxes and coverings to see a small metal device with a countdown on it. It had the number three on it before it fell down to two, then one, then zero…

 ***BOOM!***

All five of the boats exploded from the bombs that we're hidden onboard, taking out all the Fire Nation soldiers.

* * *

As the explosion was seen on the surface, below the water were five large, fish-like, metal submarine-like transports that swam underneath the Gates of Azulon. Alongside them swam Appa, whom Katara was providing an air-bubble with her Waterbending as he swam.

In the command station of one sub was Don, Sokka, Leatherhead, Professor Honeycutt, Pipsqueak, and the Mechanist who drove the sub; along with Hakoda and a few other warriors.

"You've really outdone yourself this time son." Hakoda congratulated Sokka.

"Yeah." Toph said sarcastically as she sat with Raph and the Duke. "Congratulations Sokka, you managed to invent a worse way to travel than flying."

"Awe, is someone sea sick?" Raph teased Toph who punched his arm.

The Duke took off his helmet as he gave it to Toph. "Helmet?" She quickly took it and puked inside it.

Back with the command center Sokka began to speak. "Don was actually the one who thought of the idea; the mechanist, Leatherhead, and Professor Honeycutt did all the work."

"Don't sell yourself short my boy." The Mechanist replied. "It was your idea to use Waterbending to make the sub sink and float. Brilliant!"

"This allowed us to create more maneuverable vehicles without having to use a power source to control its movements." Leatherhead added. "Though I will admit that Sokka's original blue prints we're… well… _difficult_ to decipher."

He presented a childish drawing of people inside a fish underwater. Mikey popped up as he looked at the drawing. "Hey, is that supposed to be Nemo?"

Everyone choose to ignore him as the Fugitoid spoke. "Unfortunately, due to the lack of both time and resources, we we're unable to develop a renewable air supply for these submarines. We will need to surface one more time before we reach the beaches."

* * *

 _Fire Nation Capital; Prison Tower_

Ming had come in with a tray of food for the imprisoned Iroh. "Lunch time, General Iroh!" She sat it down and spoke in a whisper. "And this time, I brought you an extra bowl of rice."

"Thank you Ming." Iroh thanked with a grateful smile. "You're little gestures of kindness have made my days in prison bearable." He became serious for a second. "I think you should take the rest of the day off."

Ming was a bit confused by that. "What?"

"You don't look well." Iroh said. "Maybe you should go home and rest."

She gave a sincere smile. "No, I feel fine."

Iroh gave her a very serious look. "Trust me. It is better that you are not here this afternoon."

Ming seemed to have understood as she nodded and walked out of Iroh's cell.

* * *

 _Invasion Force_

The subs and armored Appa have surfaced to allow air to circulate. As the Duke was washing out his helmet, as Toph had previously vomited in it, all the other allies in the Invasion we're making final preparations. The soldiers stretched, as did Hippo, Leatherhead, and the Boulder. Traximus sharpened his axe; Gen did the same for his sword as Usagi was in meditation. Professor Honeycutt made a few adjustments on a small orb-like device that he had built for this occasion.

Aang, Leo, Raph, Katara, April, Sokka, Don, Mikey, Casey, Toph, and Master Splinter had all gathered together to say a few words to each other.

"So, this is it huh?" Aang guessed.

"Looks that way." April answered.

"You sure about going with Aang alone Leo?" Don asked. "We could go with you."

"I'm sure." Leo answered. "The Invasion Force will need all of you more than we do. Aang and I can sneak in and take care of the Fire Lord before we take on Shredder together."

"I am proud of you my son." Master Splinter began. "You have grown into the leader and warrior I always hoped you could be. You and the brotherly bond you have formed with Aang are strong. I know you can do this. Be careful, my son."

"Thank you, father." Leo bowed to his master as he bowed back.

"So, you guys ready for the Fire Nation and the Foot to know the Avatar's alive?" Sokka asked.

Aang became very serious. "We're ready." He said as he stood with Leo.

"Make sure to give his royal pain in the ass and bucket-head a good old fashion ass kicking from me." Casey encouraged them.

"You guys take care of yourselves." April told them.

"Watch each other's backs." Don added.

"Show the bad guys whose boss." Mikey said as well.

"Leo, I never said this before, but I'm glad you're my bro. You and the little messiah kid here." Raph encouraged as he and Leo both fist-bumped.

Toph, Sokka, and Katara gathered in a group hug around Aang, and even the Turtles, Casey, and April joined in, even Master Splinter.

"I hope you guys kick some serious Fire Lord and Shredder butt." Toph said as Momo came in as well.

"Everyone listen up!" Hakoda called out. "The next time we surface, it'll be on the beaches. So stay alert, and fight smart. Now break time's over, back in the subs!"

Master Splinter, Sokka, Toph, Raph, Don, Casey, and Mikey walked towards the hatch as April waited along the side, while Leo walked towards the end of the sub, he turned on his glider-pack showing off his wings and decided to wait for Aang.

Aang and Katara faced each other for a minute before they both spoke at the same time.

"Katara I…"

"Aang I…"

It was a bit of an awkward start, neither noticed Leo and April both watching from their respective spots. "You go first." Aang told Katara.

"We've been through so many things together." Katara began. "And I've seen you grow up so much. You're not that goofy kid I found in the ice-berg anymore." Aang blushed at that, while the eavesdropping April had a bit of a knowing grin on her face, Leo had his own smirk as well.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm really proud of you." Katara finished.

"Everything's going to be different after today, isn't it?" Aang asked.

"Yes, it is."

"What if… what if I don't come back?"

"Aang, don't say that. Of course you'll…" Katara didn't get the chance to finish as Aang pulled her into a kiss. She was surprised for a moment before he pulled away, leaving a blushing face.

"Leo, let's go!" Aang called out.

"Right." Leo agreed as his jetpack activated and he took to the sky as Aang did the same with his glider.

Katara watched them both fly off with blushing cheeks. "Well, isn't he a charmer?"

She turned around in surprise to see a smirking April with her arms crossed. "April!? How I… did you… how much did you hear?"

"Enough." April said before putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, from one girl to another, I've got my own little crush to, so I know the feeling."

Katara looked away. "You won't tell anyone will you?"

"Our little secret." April promised. "Come on, let's go."

The young Waterbender was a bit surprised. "Wait, you're coming with me?"

"Of course I am. I'm not leaving all alone, what kind of friend would I be?" April joked a bit as Katara smiled back. "Come on, time to go."

"Right." Katara got serious as she created a brief water-bubble for her and April as they mounted Appa.

"Hey April!" Mikey called out from the open hatch, getting both their attention. "You watch Katara's back alright? That's my sister you got there."

Katara smiled, never getting tired of being called Mikey's sister. "Don't worry Mikey." April promised. "I'll look after her as if she we're _my_ sister."

Mikey smiled before closing the hatch. Katara then created a water-bubble around herself, April, and Appa's head as the armored bison submerged underwater, all five submarines followed soon after.

* * *

 _Fire Nation, Mai's House_

Zuko wore a hooded robe as he and Karai both entered the empty house that belonged to his beloved Mai. He looked at the painting of himself and her for a moment.

"I'm sorry Mai." Zuko said before putting a letter on her bed. He looked down for a minute before Karai put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I am sorry, but this is for the best. We cannot drag her, or Ty-Lee into this." Karai told him.

"I know." Zuko replied. He looked to Karai. "You have the sword." She nodded. "Karai. I… I just want to say, thanks. Thanks for doing this with me, it really means a lot."

"You're welcome." Karai responded. "And I should be thanking you as well. You and your friends we're honestly the first real friends I have ever had. And that helped me to see the path I was on was not the right one. But now we take the right path, together."

Zuko nodded. "Together."

* * *

 _Elsewhere_

Leo and Aang both flew with their respective gliders over a rocky and grassy landscape. Leo gave a smirk in Aang's direction.

"Smooth move Aang, real smooth." Leo teased, referring to the kiss Aang made to Katara.

Aang's cheeks turned red. "You saw that?!"

"I was on the same sub waiting for you, of course I saw that." Leo replied. "And besides, its not like the whole thing between you and her is a secret. Pretty much everyone knows." He teased.

Aang gave a slight chuckle. "Raph is never gonna let me live this down, is he?"

"Nope, probably not." Leo replied. They both heard Aang's stomach groan.

The young Avatar opened the snack-compartment and let some of the snacks fall into his mouth. "What do you know? It did come in handy. You want a snack Leo?"

"No thanks, I'm good." Leo replied as the two flew closer to the Fire Nation capital city.

* * *

Meanwhile, a small periscope shot out of the water and Hakoda was able to get a good view of the beaches. He looked down below to the troops. "Everyone in position. Earthbenders and heavy hitters, get in your tanks. This is gonna be a rough ride!"

Toph, Raph, Traximus, Leatherhead, Casey, and all the Earthbenders slid down a ladder and into a lower compartment of the sub.

The submarines and armored Appa continued to move underwater at a quiet pace. The gates at the beaches of the Fire Nation capital we're quiet to. That is until a bell alarm went off. From the battlements on top the gates, harpoons we're shot into the water.

With the Waterbenders' aid, the submarines we're able to maneuver around the incoming harpoons and avoid getting hit, though there we're a few close calls. April steered Appa's reins as Katara used her Waterbending to maintain the bubble around his head. However, one harpoon got lucky as it pierced the haul of one of the subs.

The Swampbender inside was able to freeze the incoming water to prevent any more intakes, but the harpoon began to drag the submarine out and pulled it out of the water. Katara however took Appa's reins and soared out of the water. As the armored bison got closer to the chain, April took out her katana and was able to cut the chain as they passed it, allowing the sub to fall back into the water and join the others.

The five subs managed to get to the drainage gates of the wall that separated them from the beaches. Hakoda saw this through the periscope.

"Ready the torpedoes!"

Torpedo's covered in ice we're loaded into the pods of the subs.

"Launch!"

The Waterbenders we're able to push the ice covering the torpedoes out the submarines and right into the drainage gates, blowing them away. The explosion was even seen from the surface. This allowed the submarines to pass through.

They got closer to the beaches. Toph, Raph, Traximus, and Leatherhead all stood with the Earthbenders, as did Casey who lowered his signature hockey mask to cover his face. Meanwhile Master Splinter, Don, Mikey, Hakoda, Bato, Usagi, and Gen stood with the Water Tribe warriors and Swampbenders. Everyone had a serious expression on his or her face, as the battle was only seconds away.

The subs reached the surface and missiles we're fired from the upper battlements at them immediately. Right when the submarines hit the beaches, the bay doors opened up. Large centipede-like tanks rolled out, controlled by Earthbenders, and everyone yelled as they charged forward into battle.

* * *

Meanwhile; high above the ensuing battle there was a helicopter that was completely cloaked, invisible to the naked eye. This was piloted by a couple of Foot Ninja. In the very back of the helicopter was the still-unconscious Azula. She was restrained to a steel chair via metal bindings. Her hands cuffed behind her back, her ankles cuffed together. A metal band wrapped around her upper body, binding her arms to her body and herself to the chair. A metal restraint was over her mouth in the form of a gag. She may have been unconscious, but the Foot didn't take any chances.

With the Princess secure, a few Foot Ninja watched from a window as the battle began. One Ninja accessed his comns on a restricted frequency.

"Master Shredder, the Invasion Force has now landed and engaged the Fire Nation army."

" _Good. Monitor them further, keep me informed of any developments and remain out of sight. All goes as planned."_

"Yes Master Shredder." The Foot Ninja watched the battle unfold from their hiding spot.

* * *

The Invasion Force had now engaged the Fire Nation army. Trucks containing various supplies such as rocks, water, and explosives we're at the front and read; a total of five Earthbender tanks we're in the middle protecting the infantry of Waterbenders, Earthbenders, and warriors from this and other worlds.

Fire Nation battlements above opened fire, but they didn't seem to even slow them down as the Invasion Force pushed forward. Raph, Toph, and Traximus led one group; Don, Hakoda, and Sokka led a second group; Mikey, Usagi, and Gen led a third group; while Master Splinter, Casey, and Leatherhead lead a fourth.

Master Splinter accessed his comn device, sharing a link with the other leaders. "Toph, you and the Earthbenders take the battlement on your east side!

"Got it!" Toph did as instructed as a truck of rocks dropped off some rocks for her, the Boulder, and the Hippo. All three Earthbenders took the rocks and shot them at the battlement.

As the Invasion Force continued forward; Appa landed as Katara and April dismounted the armored bison. Katara covered her arms in water-whips as April took out her katana. They both looked to each other and nodded as they joined their friends.

Large doors opened on the sides of the massive walls as a multitude of Fire Nation tanks all came out to confront the Invasion Force.

"Leatherhead, Traximus, take the tanks up front!" Master Splinter ordered through the comns as the two heavy hitters ran forward to engage the six tanks ahead of them.

Traximus took out his axe and threw it. As it spun vertically and flew forward it was able to cleave an entire tank in half before the axe returned to Traximus boomerang style. He then ran towards a second tank. It tried to shoot at him, but he was quick enough to roll out of its way before taking out his energy-gatling-gun and opened fire. The rapid-fire energy bullets tore through the tank like tissue paper before it exploded in flames. Traximus ducked under a fireball from a third tank before jumping high into the air. As he fell with his axe he sliced into to the tank before tearing it apart with his weapon.

Leatherhead meanwhile ran and swerved to avoid the three tanks that shot at him. He reached the one up front before grabbing it and using his own strength to lift and flip it over on its back. A second tank opened fire. As the fireball hit him, something in him snapped. Leatherhead's eyes changed into reptilian slits as his animal side took over. He roared as he ran towards the tank that shot him and began to literally tear it apart with his bear hands.

He grabbed the terrified Firebenders inside and threw them away as he roared. He then picked up the torn pieces of the tank and threw them at the last tank. They jammed and cut through the last tank, turning it into a metal-mashed mess before it fell apart and blew up.

An Earthbender tank came up to a Fire Nation battlement that shot fireballs at it. But the stone-hide of the tank protected it as it climbed on top of the battlement and crushed it. Another Earthbender tank did the same for a Fire Nation tank, crushing its' front end as well.

However more tanks pulled up front, and even more tanks came up from behind. Don spotted them "Heads up! Tanks at six o'clock!" He called to the Swampbenders

The Swampbenders then began to use their Waterbending to create a water shield to block the Fire blasts from the tanks. Tho and Due we're able to send two water-blobs forward at a tank to cause it to derail and send it crashing into another tank.

"We're down two men!" Tho exclaimed. "Where in tarnation is Hue and that metal man?!"

Speaking of which; Professor Honeycutt slowly and casually walked out of one submarine before a few Fire Nation tanks and Firebenders surrounded him.

"Good day gentleman." The Fugitoid greeted. "I am personally abhorred of violence and would generally prefer a more peaceful solution. So I would highly recommend you surrender." He took out the orb he was working on before as he pushed a small button on it.

The Firebenders all glared as they shot streams of fire at him, and the tanks opened fire as well. The orb activated as it opened up and a bright blue energy sphere surrounded the Fugitoid, protecting him from the fire-blasts.

"I can see a peaceful resolution is not an option for you." Professor Honeycutt said. "So, now I suggest you run." As he said that, blue energy bolts shot from the orb at the enemy. The bolts hit the tanks, causing them to explode. The bolts hit the ground as well, blasting away all the Firebenders near him as well.

As he worked, it seems he failed to notice a few more Fire Nation tanks closing in on him. But the Fire Nation tanks didn't seem to notice something coming out from the water behind them. A very large mass of seaweed with a wooden mask emerged and lashed out at the enemy.

It reached out with one arm and grabbed a tank before throwing it to parts unknown. Another tank tried to shoot at it, but it just crushed the tank with its force from one of its larger arms before slapping away the third tank.

Tho and Due could only state in surprise at the Fugitoid and seaweed monster completely destroy the enemy in front of them, and the tank that was slapped away go flying and crash into a battlement, and exploding soon after.

"Ooohey!" Due cheered. "You go metal man!" He cheered on the Fugitoid. "And where you been Hue?"

A piece of the seaweed monster opened up to reveal Hue's face as he was bending the water in the seaweed to control it. "Communing with nature. Takes a while to collect this much seaweed." Though he quickly covered up to avoid a fire-blast.

The Fugitoid's sphere protected him and also created a bolt that blasted away the tank that tried to shoot at Hue before he accessed the comn links with his friends.

"My friends; a few Swampbenders and myself will remain behind to guard the submarines if we find ourselves in need of an emergency escape. The rest of you will continue forward."

" _Roger Professor."_ Don replied on the link.

* * *

Fire Nation soldiers soon poured out into the massive courtyard, and some even mounted a few komodo-rhinos as they charged in on a group of Water Tribe warriors being led by Hakoda and Sokka. Raph, Don, Mikey, Casey, Usagi, and Gen joined in as well as they charged in on the large squad.

Raph was the fist to attack as he jumped forward toward a komodo-rhino and tackled the Fire Nation soldier off before Raph twirled his sais and attacked. He laid a series of kicks and slices to knock the enemy back. When they tried to surround him, he stabbed his sai in the ground and slid his foot out in a three-sixty-degree circle to cleat them away.

Several Firebenders tried to shoot at Mikey but he just flipped and cartwheeled out of the way. "Na-na!" Mikey teased as he stuck his tongue out before leaping at the squad, nunchucks at the ready. He twirled them like helicopter blades as he spun around like a top, knocking them all down with his weapons smacking them all in the face.

Don ran forward as well as he slid under a Firebender and jammed his staff in his chest to send him flying into two more enemy soldiers. One soldier tried to jam his spear at him, but Don parried it with his staff before smacking the soldier away. Don jumped again before landing in-between two enemy soldiers and slamming both ends of his staff in their faces, knocking them down.

A couple of Firebenders we're about to shoot at the Turtles until they heard a "Yahoo!" They all turned to see a certain hockey-masked individual running their way, a hockey stick in hand.

"What the?!" A Firebender questioned.

"GOONGALA!" Casey yelled before slamming his stick across the Firebender's face; knocking all his teeth out. He repeated this process to three other Firebenders. He ducked underneath a fire-blast as Casey took out a golf-club in his other hand and slammed it up the Firebender's chin; knocking him out.

Five Firebenders lined up and shot a large stream of fire at the charging Usagi but he twirled his twin katanas like helicopter-blades to bat away the flames and protect himself. When he was up close he went for several slashes to take down all the Firebenders. A few warriors with spears tried to charge at him, but Usagi was able to kick one away as he blocked a spear-strike with his katana from another at the same time. He cut away the spear with his second katana before kicking the Firebender down.

Gen charged forward at a Komodo-Rhino as he jumped up with his katana and slashed based the Firebender, knocking him off his steed. Gen took the sheath out with his other hand to bat away a Firebender as he used his sword to block a sword-strike from another Fire Nation soldier before spinning around and slamming the sheath across his face.

A couple of Fire Nation soldiers tried to ambush the battle from behind; but a few we're swept up by a water-whip courtesy of Katara who ran forward. As she used her other water-arm to block a fire-blast, April came in and rolled underneath before slamming both her feet into the Firebender, knocking him down. She blocked a spear from another soldier with her katana before planting a palm-thrust to his face, knocking him down.

A few Firebenders tried to shoot at April, but Katara came to her defense and created a water-shield. The two female warriors found themselves back-to-back. They gave each other confident smiles before attacking the enemy.

Sokka ran forward and hopped onto a Komodo-Rhino, cutting the soldier's spear in half as he did, before kicking him off the Komodo-Rhino and taking the steed for himself. He spotted his father in trouble however.

"Dad, look out!"

Hakoda blocked one Fire-blast with his shield, but he was forced back a bit. A spear-wielding soldier charged forward and batted away his shield, but Hakoda parried his spear with the enemy's before flipping around and taking the enemy's spear, wielding two in each hand. He used one spear to bat away a Firebender's attack before knocking him down, and he threw the second spear forward to take down two Firebenders at once.

Sokka came on his newly found Komodo-Rhino and Hakoda mounted it with his son. They both looked and saw Master Splinter being surrounded by twenty or more Fire Nation soldiers, benders and non-benders alike.

"Come on, I think Splinter needs our help!" Hakoda stated.

"Hold it one sec." Raph told him as he kicked away a Firebender and joined them. "Just watch." He said with a confident grin.

Hakoda and Sokka both watched as Splinter leaped forward with his stick. He moved far faster than any enemy soldier could see. He slammed his staff back into the face of an enemy soldier before doing the same to the one in front. He twirled it as he slammed it across two more, knocking them down. Splinter jumped and did a split-kick, knocking out two in the sides of their heads. He whipped is tail around the neck of another before hauling him over and slamming him into three incoming soldiers. Splinter moved more quickly with punches, kicks, palm-thrusts, tail-whips, and stick-attacks faster than anyone could conceive, it was almost a blur. After a few more attacks, all the Fire Nation soldiers we're sent flying in multiple directions before Splinter took a combat stance, surrounded by the groaning bodies of over twenty enemy solders.

Sokka was very surprised by this, even though he'd seen Splinter in action before it still amazed him while Raph had a grin as this was expected from his father. Hakoda looked the most surprised with wide eyes and an open mouth before it turned into an impressed smile.

"Very impressive." Hakoda looked down to the red-clad Turtle. "You have one hell of a father."

"Don't I know it."

Splinter however was able to look and see a few battlements fire explosive arrows that began to slow down the Invasion Force. One hit a truck of rocks, causing it to explode, fortunately the Mechanist driving it survived. Another battlement almost hit Leatherhead and Traximus as they continued to tore apart the Tanks as the two we're forced to seek cover. One even hit Hue's seaweed body, and blew off an arm. One tried to hit the Professor, but his shield protected him. Another battlement arrow took down an Earthbender tank.

Professor Honeycutt saw all of this as well. "Oh my." He accessed his comns again. "I'm afraid those battlements are going to cause some issues for the ground forces."

Splinter heard it on his comn as he ran up to join Raph, Sokka, and Hakoda. "Those battlements need to be destroyed!"

"So what do we do?" Raph asked.

Sokka then came up with something. "I've got an idea."

* * *

The armored Appa flew through the air; carrying Splinter, Katara, April, Don, Sokka, Hakoda, Mikey, Casey, and Raph. Appa flew to the battlement towers on the west side. As he got closer; Splinter, Raph, Mikey, and Don jumped off and rolled on the ground as Appa flew towards the east side.

There we're three battlements to take care of. "Raphael, you take the furthest one! Donatello, Michelangelo take the one closest! I shall take the last. Be careful my sons."

"Got it Sensei." Mikey understood as they split up to take care of the battlements on their side.

Raph ran as fast as he could towards his battlement. Once he got to the door he kicked it down. A Firebender tried to shoot at him but he threw his sai and it pinned is shirt to the wall. Raph quickly knocked him out before jumping up and knocking out the gunner with a kick. Raph used both of his sais to cut the battlement to pieces.

Mikey opened the door of another battlement. Don twirled his staff to block a fireball before pole-vaulting up top while Mikey took down the Firebender with a nunchuck strike. Don smacked away the gunner on the battlement with his staff before reaching in it and pulling out something that caused it to fall apart.

"Awe, don't fall to pieces on me." Mikey joked, causing him and Don to both laugh.

Splinter arrived at his battlement as well, breaking the door open with a palm-thrust. He used another to block a fire-blast before running forward and knocking out the Firebender with a neck chop. He jumped and knocked out the gunner on the upper floor with his stick before turning the large crossbow away and smashing it with his stick.

Splinter met up with his sons in only a few minutes.

"Its all done sensei." Raph told him.

"Good, then we must get back to the Invasion, and hope our friends have taken care of things on the east side."

* * *

Appa flew on the east as Sokka threw a few makeshift grenades in a battlement, blowing it to smithereens. Katara bent a large amount of water from barrels strapped to Appa and used it to freeze another battlement, and the gunner inside.

The armored sky-bison landed in between the remaining three battlements as Katara, Casey, Sokka, April, and Hakoda jumped off.

"You guys take care of those two battlements! I'll take this one, watch each other's backs!" Hakoda ordered as he ran to his battlement.

"Well you heard the man, lets do this!" Casey exclaimed as the four ran to take the other two battlements.

Casey kicked down one door and moved out of the way to avoid a Firebender's attack. April rolled in and slammed the back-end of her katana in the face of the Firebender to knock him out. Casey jumped up the ladder and took down the gunner with a hockey stick across the face. He then took out a puck with a fuse and lit it before jamming it in.

"Time to go!" Casey yelled as he and April made it out just as the puck exploded, taking out the battlement. The shockwave knocked them down, as it seemed Casey was on top of April.

Realizing how close their faces we're caused them both to blush before quickly getting back up.

"So uh… yeah." April rubbed her arm. "Thanks. Casey."

Casey rubbed the back of his head, the hockey mask hiding his blushing face. "Yeah well… you're welcome babe."

Meanwhile; Sokka sliced open the door of their battlement before he ducked, allowing Katara to send water forward to freeze the Firebender before he could attack, as well as the gunner. Sokka climbed up the ladder and used his sword to cut down the crossbow.

April and Casey met up with Sokka and Katara soon after. "You kids good?" Casey asked.

"Yeah we're fine." Sokka answered. "You?"

"We're all set." April replied. "Where's your dad?"

"Up there!" Katara pointed to the top of the remaining battlement to reveal Hakoda on the roof.

Hakoda jumped in through the opening where the crossbow was. There we're a few grunts heard before the entire thing exploded from the inside; everyone looked with worry at that. Hakoda struggled out of the door as he held his aching side before collapsing on the ground.

"Dad?!" Katara exclaimed.

"Dad!" Sokka exclaimed as well as they, April, and Casey ran towards him.

"Oh geeze, man down!" Casey yelled as they tried to help Hakoda up.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Royal Palace_

Zuko kneeled before the portrait of his mother, Lady Ursa, whom he believed had passed away. Karai remained in respectful silence. Though she didn't hear how his mother presumably passed away, she decided not to ask as not to upset Zuko.

"I know I made some bad choices." Zuko said as though he we're speaking to his mother. "But today, I'm going to set things right."

"I think you're mother would be proud if she could see you now." Karai told him. Zuko got up and smiled at her as he put a grateful hand on her shoulder. The two then proceeded to walk out as Zuko carried a duffle bag of supplies and his Dao-swords; while Karai carried her katanas, a few supplies of her own, and the Sword of Tengu.

* * *

 _Battle Field_

Appa flew towards the submarines when Professor Honeycutt saw through his energy shield the armored Sky-Bison fly in.

" _Yo Metal-Head! We got a man down!"_ Casey exclaimed to the Fugitoid through the comns.

" _Professor, Hakoda is seriously injured. We need you're help!"_ April clarified through the comns.

"I'm on my way!" Honeycutt responded as he moved the sphere and it flew to where Appa was landing.

As the Fugitoid temporarily exited his energy sphere; Katara, April, Casey, and Sokka helped Hakoda onto the ground where Honeycutt met them. Katara got to work with her healing water while the Fugitoid's eyes scanned the injury on his side.

"Well professor?" April asked.

"I have good news and bad news." The Fugitoid began. "The good news is the injury is not fatal." This relieved the group. "The bad news is that the injury is still serious enough that he won't be able to fight for a while, even with you're healing technique."

"Oh no." Katara uttered.

Hakoda tried to get up. "I need to get… back to the troops…" He struggled as he grunted in pain.

"Whoa man, hold on." Casey told him. "You heard what the prof said; you can't fight like that."

"Hakoda, if you continue to fight with an injury like that your condition will worsen even to the point where it could potentially be fatal." Professor Honeycutt informed.

"Dad you have to listen to them!" Katara tried. "You can't fight anymore."

Hakoda wouldn't have it. "Everyone's counting on me to lead this mission Katara." Hakoda winced in pain. "I won't let them down." He tried to get up but April held his shoulders firmly.

"If you go out like this, you are going to die." April stated.

Sokka turned to his sister and the Fugitoid. "Is there anything you guys can do?!"

"I am afraid not." Professor Honeycutt answered. "I have to help the Swampbenders guard our emergency escape, and help maintain communication with the rest of the invasion force. There is nothing I can do."

"And are you sure, my healing water won't get him back in time?" Katara asked him.

"That is correct, I am sorry." The Fugitoid replied.

Sokka then had a serious look on his face as he remembered what Don told him before this battle began. "I'll do it."

"Huh, I didn't know you had healing powers." Casey guessed.

"No, I'll lead the Invasion Force with Master Splinter." Sokka clarified.

"Don't be crazy Sokka!" Katara told him.

"Maybe I _am_ a little crazy, but the eclipse is about to start and we need to be up that volcano by the time it does!" Sokka insisted.

"Katara, he's right." April told the younger girl. "Master Splinter is good, but even he can't lead the Invasion alone. I think Sokka can do it."

"If Sokka thinks he can lead this thing, then I'm in to." Casey stood up as he put a hand on his shoulder. "I got your back kid."

"You can do this." Hakoda told his son. "I'm proud of you son."

"You are the most logical choice with Hakoda, Leonardo, and the Avatar all absent." Professor Honeycutt agreed.

"I still think you're crazy." Katara turned to her brother with a smile. "But I'm proud of you to." She turned to the hockey-masked man. "Casey, you take care of my brother, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll watch his back." Casey promised.

"I'll stay here and help Katara, just in case any bad guys get any funny ideas." April said as she helped Katara.

Sokka then put on his wolf-helmet as he and Casey got back up on Appa. "Yip yip!" Appa flew back towards the battlefield as Professor Honeycutt stepped back inside his sphere to protect the submarines.

* * *

The battlefield was a complete mess as the Fire Nation appeared to be loosing; but the Invasion Force was in a bit of a disarray. Raph punched away a Firebender as Leatherhead roared, grabbing two soldiers and slamming them into each other before throwing them away. Usagi and Gen we're back-to-back beating back the Firebenders surrounding them as Donnie pole-vaulted over and slammed his feet into an enemy soldier and knocked him down while Mikey slammed his nunchucks into more and more enemies.

Traximus was at the lead with his energy-gatling-gun, gunning down the tanks in front of him as well as any enemy soldiers nearby. Toph, the Boulder, Haru, and Hippo stood with Traximus as they created several boulders and flung them at the enemy, blasting them away. Master Splinter leaped high as he took down seven Firebenders with quick punches and palm-thrusts.

One tank came up close to Master Splinter and was about to fire at him; but Appa landed in front and roared as he flipped the tank with his horns. Casey jumped down and decked a Firebender with a golf club before joining with the others.

Sokka stood on top of Appa's saddle to get everyone's attention. "Listen up everyone! I want the tanks in wedge-formation! Warriors and benders in the middle! We're taking that tower and heading for the Royal Palace"

Everyone followed Sokka's orders as all the tanks came together in a reverse-V-formation; with Splinter, Toph, Raph, Mikey, Don, Casey, Leatherhead, Usagi, Traximus, Haru, the Boulder, the Hippo, Gen, and every single Water Tribe warrior and Earthbending soldier together.

Sokka was at the lead on top of Appa as he took out his sword. "CHARGE!"

* * *

Meanwhile; Leo and Aang both stood on top of the ring that surrounded the Fire Nation Royal City. They both looked to each other and nodded before Leo activated his glider pack and Aang opened up his own glider and they flew down towards the city.

They both landed on a roof of a small building and quickly too cover ninja-style. They peeked over and saw the streets, and the entire town seemed empty. No one was there.

"That's strange." Aang observed.

"You would at least think there would be some guards here or something." Leo mused. "Something's not right."

They both took off on their respective gliders; and seemed completely unaware of the two invisible Foot-Tech Ninjas watching them from another rooftop.

The Avatar and Blue-Clad Turtle ran to the Fire Nation Royal Palace's front entrance. Aang blew the door open with Airbending as he and Leo brandished their respective weapons.

"The Avatar is back!" Aang exclaimed, only for them both look in surprise to find there was nobody there.

"What the hell?" Leo questioned.

"Where is everyone?" Aang asked.

Leo looked troubled as the two began to enter the palace. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

* * *

 _Battlefield_

The Earthbending tanks provided most of the protection as the whole Invasion Force began to ascend up the slope and right towards the plaza tower. Any fire-blast from a Firebender or a tank was futile; and any Firebender who tried to climb over got a serious beat down from the powerhouses that we're inside the tight formation.

On one side of the plaza tower; Traximus, Leatherhead, and several Earthbenders led by Toph broke down one wall, and on the other side, Mikey and Raph both rode a truck filled with explosives.

"COWABUNGA!" Mikey and Raph both yelled before jumping off the truck as it exploded.

With the holes in the walls, the Invasion Force quickly flooded the area round the plaza tower. The Fire Nation forces we're completely overwhelmed and forced to retreat.

"The Fire Nation is falling back!" Usagi called. "Keep pushing forward warriors! Fight on!"

Appa landed with Sokka at the reins as Bato turned to face him. "Sokka, we're on our way to victory!" Sokka looked at the direction of the palace with a serious expression.

Meanwhile; Mikey, Don, and Raph had joined up with Master Splinter as they beat down a few Fire Nation soldiers.

"Yeah! Who wants some!?" Raph excitedly yelled.

"We're doing it! We're gonna win!" Mikey cheered as he and Don high-fived

However, Splinter was the first to notice something about this whole battle. "This celebration is a bit premature my sons."

"Yeah, we still got to get up to the Royal Palace and the eclipse is coming up real soon." Don said.

"No, that is not what I am talking about." Splinter said, confusing his sons.

"Sensei, what are you talking about?" Raph questioned.

"What have you all noticed of this mission so far?" The rat master asked.

"That we're beating the Fire Nation?" Mikey questionably answered.

"It may seem that way, but what else. Who have we been fighting?" Splinter continued.

"The Fire Nation." Raph answered.

"Yes, all our enemies so far have been Fire Nation." Splinter replied. "All Fire Nation, and yet…"

Don was the first to get it. "We haven't seen a single Foot Ninja!"

Raph and Mikey both got it. "That's right." Raph said. "Where the heck are those guys anyway?! No way they'd hide from a battle like this, not when we're right on their doorstep!"

Mikey gave a gulp. "Uh bros, my bad-feeling-sense is tingling."

* * *

 _Fire Nation Royal Palace_

Aang flew in an air-sphere with Leo inside as they came to a stop in the Fire Lord's throne room only to find it was completely empty, much to their shock.

"What!?" Leo exclaimed. "They're not here!"

Aang's eyes widened in terror. "No." He dropped to his staff as he fell on his hands and knees. "No, no, no!"

Leo had a similar feeling as he clenched his swords in anger as he came to a realization. "We've been had!"

Fire Lord Ozai! Shredder! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

The two invisible Foot-Tech Ninjas observed this realization that we're following them from a safe-distance. They relayed this footage through their orange goggles to another point on their signal.

* * *

 _Cloaked Foot Helicopter_

With Azula still unconscious, bound and gagged, in the back; the small group of Foot Ninja saw the footage the Foot Tech ninjas we're showing them through their goggles of Leo and Aang in the abandoned throne room.

The lead ninja accessed his comns again. "Master, the Avatar and Leonardo have discovered the Fire Nation Royal Palace to be empty; and the Invasion Force has taken the plaza tower and are proceeding further, as you have predicted. The eclipse shall begin shortly"

" _Then everything falls into place._ " Shredder responded back on the receiving frequency. _"Continue watching, when the eclipse begins initiate Operation: Dragon Slayer."_

"As you wish, Master Shredder." The lead Foot Ninja cut off the comns and watched the ensuing battle taking place. "And so, a Nation falls."

 **To Be Continued.**

 **Duh, duh, duh! If you think things are intense now, just wait till part two. Where are the Foot hiding? What does Shredder have planned? What is Operation: Dragon Slayer? What will happen next? Find out next time on Wolds Collide?**

 **I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I hope you all have just as much fun reading it. I promise to post Part 2 soon. And trust me, that's when things take a real unexpected turn :)**

 **Thank you, and good night.**


	24. Day of Black Sun: Rise of The Foot

**Hello to one and all. I told you I would update with part 2 quickly, and I keep my promises. This chapter is going to be very interesting. I'm sure you've figured out from the previous chapter that things will be slightly different then they we're in the cannon episodes, but I promise you, no one in this story is prepared for what is about to happen. Things REALLY start to kick up here. Now I present to you, Part 2 of the Invasion**

 **Day of Black Sun – Rise of The Foot**

The eclipse was almost upon the Invasion Force as they proceeded closer to the capital city. The Fugitoid and all the Swampbenders remained behind to guard submarines on the beaches just in case they needed an emergency exit.

The Invasion Force has already taken down the Plaza Tower and are approaching closer. Currently however, they we're slightly pinned down. The Earthbender tanks provided cover for the whole force as several Firebenders, catapults, and Tanks opened fire. Doors opened on the Earthbending tanks as Earthbenders shot out rocks to take down the heavy artillery, while Traximus hid behind one tank and opened fire with his energy-gatling-gun, plowing through most of the front infantry. Usagi and Gen each had a bow-and-arrow as they opened fire to clear out the smaller infantry, even Leatherhead threw large pieces of metal from previously destroyed tanks. At the moment, it would seem the enemy would clear soon.

While most of the Invasion Force was maintaining cover; Master Splinter, Sokka, Raph, Don, Mikey, and Bato we're looking over some maps to quickly plot their next move. Casey quickly ran up to them to inform them of their situation.

"We're beating them back." Casey informed. "But we better start hurrying before more show up."

"We're working on it." Bato replied.

Master Splinter took notice of some added company. "It would seem we have visitors."

Sokka looked to where the rat sensei was pointing and saw Katara and April both helping Hakoda get to the makeshift base of the Invasion Force.

"Dad!" Sokka exclaimed happily as he, Toph, Raph, Don, Mikey, Master Splinter, and Casey met up with them.

"Good to see you're on your feet their old man." Raph congratulated.

"I'm not that old." Hakoda joked slightly. "But it's thanks to Katara's healing. She and Ms. O'Neil managed to help get me here, but I'm still in no shape to fight." He said as he sat down on a nearby rock.

"You have done well to get us this far. Now it is time for you to rest. " Master Splinter said.

"So what's the situation?" April asked.

"Everything's going pretty smoothly, and the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet" Sokka replied.

"Lets hope our luck holds out." Hakoda replied.

Katara seemed to have notice something as she walked forward slightly. Mikey noticed. "Hey Katara, what's up?"

She looked up towards the sky slightly. "Hey, is that… Aang?! Leo!?"

Katara wasn't wrong as she did spot the Avatar and the oldest Ninja Turtle flying down on their respective gliders. This really caught the group's attention. "What?!" Don questioned.

Leo and Aang both landed and joined their groups. "Uh guys… what's going on?" April asked.

"Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down." Sokka hoped.

"Or that Shredder gave up as soon as he saw you." Mikey hoped as well.

"Mikey, I think you already know the answer to that." Leo told his youngest brother.

"They weren't there." Aang told the group. "No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned."

"What!?" April, Mikey, Don, and Casey questioned at the same time while the whole group could only look in shock, save for Master Splinter who could only scowl.

"What the Shell!?" Raph questioned angrily.

"They knew." Sokka quickly realized.

"If I recall, Princess Azula and the Shredder both infiltrated Ba-Sing-Se some time ago, so its reason to believe the Earth King unintentionally informed them of the invasion." Master Splinter assumed.

"We looked everywhere." Leo explained to the whole group. "All over the palace and the entire city. There wasn't a single human being."

"It's over." Aang began. "The Fire Lord is probably long gone. Probably on some far away remote island where he'd be safe during the eclipse."

"Hey, you guys wanna know something weird." Don began to tell Leo and Aang. "This whole time, ever since the fighting started, we've been fighting Firebenders, tanks, battlements, you name it."

"How is that weird?" Aang asked.

"They we're all Fire Nation." Don answered. "Everyone and everything we've faced so far has been Fire Nation. So…"

Leo quickly realized what Don was saying. "Where's the Foot?"

"You guys haven't seen any Foot?!" Aang asked as well.

"No, we haven't and that's weird." Katara answered.

"An entire army of Firebenders and war machines, but not one single Foot soldier." Raph added. "Something ain't right."

"Maybe they chickened out and left." Toph said.

"Unlikely." Master Splinter responded. "The Shredder is a patient foe who bides his time. He is still here, I'm sure of it."

"Yeah that's right, and my instincts are telling me the Fire Lord can't be too far away either." Sokka added. "He would have a secret bunker."

"You're right Sokka." Don added. "Someplace safe and secure he'd be during the eclipse and still close enough to lead his armies."

"And the Shredder has gotta be there to." Mikey assumed. "I'm guessing we're going to find a whole army of Foot Ninja there."

"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it." Toph stated proudly.

Don looked at his watch. "Professor Honeycutt and I have managed to time the passing of the eclipse, and it looks like we got ten minutes before it starts, and eight minutes more for the whole eclipse to last. Meaning we'd have to win this thing in under eighteen minutes."

April gave a sigh. "That's not long. Can we still do this in not even half an hour?"

"I think we can." Aang stated. "We can still win the day."

"I'm with Aang, if we have a chance to take down the Fire Lord and Shredder, we have to take it." Leo agreed.

"Hold on I think April may have a point." Katara began. "If they knew they we're coming it could be a trap. What if there _is_ a whole Foot army waiting for us?"

"Yeah, wouldn't it be better if we used the time we have left to leave and maybe plan to fight another day?" April suggested.

"Hey we don't run from nobody!" Raph stated as he pounded his fist into his palm.

Casey was in agreement. "Got that right. I'm sure you guys can clear away those chumps and take down the head honchos in no time!"

"April, Katara, this may be the only window of opportunity we have." Don told the girls. "Solar eclipses are very rare, we'll never get an opportunity like this again."

"Donatello is correct." Hakoda began. "Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission, they know what's at stake. If there's still a chance, and there's still hope, I think they want Aang to go for it."

"And if we all go together, we'll have an even bigger chance of taking the bad guys down!" Mikey said seriously.

"What do you think Sensei?" Leo asked Splinter. "I know It's risky, but we've come out of impossible situations before. I think we can do this."

Master Splinter began to think for a moment. "I believe Avatar Aang should make the final decision."

Aang stood firmly on the ground as he looked towards the capital. "I've got to try."

"Then we're in agreement." Leo said. "With this new development we'll need a bigger strike team this time. Sokka, Raph, Toph, Don, and Mikey; you guys are with Aang and me. We're going to find this bunker. Katara, April, Casey, Hakoda, you guys and Master Splinter keep the Invasion Force moving to the capital."

Everyone nodded, ready to continue this fight.

* * *

Aang rode Appa as the armored Sky Bison soared in the air with Leo, Raph, Toph, Sokka, Don, and Mikey riding towards the Royal City. They set down along the side of the volcano and dismounted the Sky Bison.

"Toph, do you feel anything?" Leo asked as the young Earthbender knelt down.

"Yep, there are natural tunnels crisscrossing through the inside of the volcano." Toph answered.

"Can you feel any Foot Ninja down there?" Don asked.

"Not yet, but I learned the hard way just how sneaky those creeps can be." Toph replied.

"Anything else? Is there a structure somewhere?" Sokka asked as well.

Toph got into a stance before she thrusted her fists into the rock. "There's something big, dense, and made of metal right in the heart of the volcano."

"Yep, sounds like a secret bunker to me." Mikey enthusiastically said.

"Well Toph would you kindly make a door?" Raph requested with a smirk.

"With pleasure." Toph smirked as well as she created a large hole for all of them to jump into.

Aang turned to his pet Sky Bison and Lemur. "Stay safe, we'll be back soon." He and the others prepared to enter the tunnel as they jumped down the hole.

As they did however, they failed to notice not far in the sky was the still-cloaked invisible Foot helicopter, with its Foot pilots observing the whole thing.

"Master Shredder, the Turtles and the Avatar have discovered the tunnels and the bunker, right on schedule. And the eclipse is just over five minutes away." A Foot ninja informed through the comns.

" _Stand by. Do not move give the signal until the eclipse has begun."_ Shredder instructed.

"As you wish, Master." The Foot replied.

* * *

"Which way Toph?" Raph asked as the group entered the tunnels.

"This way!" Toph pointed down one area. "The other one's a dead end."

She began to lead everyone down the tunnel into the volcano's interior. "What would we do without you?" Sokka asked.

"Perish in burning hot magma." Toph replied simply as the group passed a small lava pool. Sokka saw the pool and freaked.

"Yeah pretty much." Sokka comically agreed.

"Eh, you've been through one lava ride before, you've been through them all." Mikey dismissed as this wasn't there first time dealing with lava and magma.

The group came before a large area of active steam/lava vents. "The tunnel continues on the other side, and it leads right to the bunker!" Toph pointed out.

"You mean on the other side of a volley of vents that are so hot they can melt the skin right of our bones?" Don pointed out and questioned at the same time.

"Yep." Toph confirmed.

"Why would these guys be so stupid to put their bunker in the middle of a volcano of all places?!" Raph questioned.

"Hey it makes sense to me." Mikey pointed out. "Only the smartest bad guys put their secret places in the most crazy places. Making it impossible for the heroes to get to them."

The entire group, even the Turtles, looked surprised at Mikey. "Huh, that… actually makes a lot of sense." Leo said, sounding a bit surprised.

"Its classic villainy." Mikey said proudly. "Told you reading all those comics would pay off one day."

"Great, but how do we get across?" Aang asked.

"We'll have to be fast but careful." Sokka replied as he began running. Less than a second later, a small spool of lava shot out in front of him, but Don pulled Sokka back before he could get burned.

Aang sent an air-gust that quickly cooled off the lava vent. "Okay, how would you guys get across?" Aang asked the Turtles.

"Run fast and don't die." Raph said simply.

The seven of them ran as quickly as they could, jumping and avoiding all the vents, as well as the columns of steam and lava. They successfully managed to get to the other end and down the tunnel. But they stopped when they found themselves facing a pool of lava that stood between them and their continued path.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Raph said with a face-palm.

"What I tell ya?" Mikey questioned. "Classic villainy."

"How does that get us across?" Sokka questioned.

"I can only carry two people at a time on glider so I can't carry you all." Aang said.

"Not to mention we're on a time-limit." Don added.

Leo looked along the sides of the tunnel, spotting a few rocks coming out from the sides and hanging. He walked up to one and felt it was pretty secure. "I've got an idea."

Aang used his glider to carry the screaming Toph and Sokka across the lava pool. While at the same time, the Turtles ran across the walls and ceiling. Leo ran and hopped across the stones on the right wall as Raph did the same for the left wall. Mikey and Don meanwhile swung from the stalagmites on the ceiling to get to the other side.

There we're a few close calls, but the heroes have managed to successfully reach solid ground and continued running down the tunnel. They later found themselves before a large metal dome built into the volcano with a large metal door sealed shut.

"I think we found it." Leo said.

"That's some door." Sokka mused.

"That thing is just as big as the Earth King's." Mikey pointed out.

Raph still remained confident. "Toph, would you do the honors?" He gestured for his friend to do her thing.

She walked up to it, as she knocked on the door she felt its echoes. "Not a problem." She used her Metalbending to preform a series of elbow-jabs to create a few dents on the door. After kissing her fingers she shoved them into the dent and was able to pry the door open with her bare hands, literally.

"Metalbending. Sweet." Mikey mused with an eager grin as the group ran inside.

"I am so glad we added you to the group!" Sokka practically sang.

"Don, how long until the eclipse?" Leo asked his younger brother as they ran.

Don looked at his watch and saw the timer. "Less than two minutes."

"Then lets pick up the pace, and hope the others are holding out." Aang said

* * *

Meanwhile, back with the Invasion Force. The small army of rebels and warriors has made it to the slope of the volcano as they began to ascend up the diagonal paths closer to their intended destination.

Firebenders shot from above on their battlement towers at the Earthbender tanks, but the tanks proved to be too much. The Earthbenders themselves even carried shields above their heads to protect themselves from the blasts.

The Boulder and the Hippo worked together to hit a slope with their Earthbending to create a rockslide to take down the entire battlement. Traximus opened fire with his gatling gun again as he tore through and destroyed a tower above him as well. Leatherhead had two shields in his hands; he protected himself from a fire blast with one before he threw the other with such force it tore through another battlement.

The commanding Fire Nation officer saw his defenses being demolished from the slope above. He turned to the side and saw the eclipse was almost starting.

"Retreat! Everyone move to the secondary defensive position! Retreat!"

A squad of Firebenders shot their fireballs at the invading forces; but they we're forced back by a volley of arrows. They looked in shock to see Usagi riding on a stolen komodo-rhino with Casey behind him. Gen also rode a komodo-rhino with a bow-and-arrow as she shot at the enemy.

Usagi jumped from the komodo-rhino with both katanas in his hands as he slammed his feet onto a Firebender. He used his swords to block a few fireballs before he sliced at the Firebenders, knocking them down. Gen followed suit as he rolled off his komodo-rhino and ran forward, head-butting a Fire Nation soldier and send him off the cliff.

Casey gave a yell as he ran forward to with a baseball bat in his left hand and a golf club in his right. He smacked one enemy across the face with the club before bashing another in the chest with a bat. He looked behind with Usagi and Gen to their approaching friends.

"Yo fellas! Keep it up!" Casey exclaimed. "We got en on the run!"

"Push forward fellow warriors! For honor! For victory!" Usagi cheered as well as they continued to lead the Invasion Force up the sloops.

Master Splinter addressed the troops on top of an Earthbending tank. "The Eclipse is nearing! Our victory is at hand! Once it has begun secure the perimeter and the Fire Nation will be defeated!"

The warriors all cheered for the rat sensei as they continued to push forward. Meanwhile, Katara and April still continued to help Hakoda as they hung a little further back.

"We can wait here if you want." Katara offered her father.

"No, I want to press forward with the others." Hakoda replied.

"We're almost there, don't worry." April assured. "Lets just hope the guys are doing okay."

* * *

 _Underground Tunnels_

War Minister Qin whistled to himself as he casually walked down one tunnel. As he did, a few familiar characters ran past him. He gave a gasp; causing Leo, Raph, Aang, Toph, Sokka, Don, and Mikey to turn around in brief surprise at the sight of him. Raph immediately grabbed the War Minister with one hand and pinned him to a wall and held his sai in his other hand close to Qin's face.

"The Fire Lord's chamber is that way!" Qin immediately answered. "Down the hall, to the left, up the stairs, you can't miss it!"

They all glared for a second before Aang smiled. "Thanks." Raph threw the War Minister on the ground before the group ran in the direction that he told them to go.

Once he was certain the heroes we're out of range he breathed a sigh of relief as he continued walking down the hall. However, before he could turn one of the Foot Elite Ninjas stepped out in front of him.

"War Minister Qin." The Elite Ninja began. "It is imperative you come with me, for your own protection."

The surprised War Minister was not about to turn down an offer to have a bodyguard. "Lead the way."

The Elite Ninja led the War Minister to their intended destination.

* * *

Meanwhile; Leo, Aang, Raph, Mikey, Don, Toph, and Sokka continued to run down the tunnels. Don looked at his watch.

"We have exactly thirty seconds till the total eclipse!"

The entire group came to a large metal door that bore the Fire Nation insignia right above it. This was their destination.

"This is it. Are you ready Aang?" Leo asked his friend.

The young Avatar took a deep sigh. "I'm ready! I'm ready to face the Fire Lord!"

"We got you're back kid." Raph told him as each of the Turtles drew their respective weapons ready to fight.

Aang threw out a massive air-gust with his staff, which completely blew the door off its hinges. They ran inside to a massive underground chamber with a single chair at the very end of it. But none we're prepared for whom they saw in the chair.

"About time you freaks got here. I was starting to a little getting a little bored waiting for you." Hun greeted with an evil smile, as he wore a pair of metal gauntlets.

Aang, Sokka, Mikey, Don, and even Leo's mouths hung open while Toph and Raph could only scowl.

"HUN!?" Raph exclaimed with shock and anger. "What the shell are you doing here?!"

"Waiting for you." Hun answered. "Oh, and look. If it isn't the mighty Avatar, back from the dead." His smirk never left his face. "Of course, we've known you we're alive the whole time, and the Foot has known about your little Invasion since Ba-Sing-Se."

Every single hero shared a look that served as a mixture of shock and anger.

* * *

Meanwhile; Zuko and Karai both came towards a smaller bunker even deeper in the volcano. It had a small metal door with two torches at the side.

"I'm ready to face you." Zuko stated.

"I'll be by your side. I promise." Karai assured him as the two opened the door to the bunker.

Fire Lord Ozai sat on his spot as he drank a warm beverage with an assortment of Fire Nation Royal Guards with spears protecting him.

"Prince Zuko, Karai, what are you two doing here?"

* * *

 _Outside_

The eclipse was beginning, only seconds remained until it started. The Invasion Force moved up the slope of the volcano and we're ever closer to the Royal City.

The Mechanist and Leatherhead moved together up the slope and both noticed the moon moving in front of the sun. "The eclipse has begun!" Leatherhead shouted to the invasion force.

"Everyone put on your eclipse glasses!" The Mechanist announced as he put on a pair of glasses he and Leatherhead designed for this moment.

Everyone in the entire Invasion Force temporarily stopped to put on his or her own glasses. Everyone had them; Water Tribe warriors, Earth Kingdom fighters, Usagi, Gen, even Traximus had his own pair. Casey took off his hockey mask and put on another one that had eclipse-lenses in the eyeholes.

April, Katara, and Hakoda all had theirs on as well, even Master Splinter, as the four looked up towards the Solar Eclipse.

"Its actually… kind of beautiful." April admitted as they saw the eclipse.

"But we must hurry, we only have a short amount of time before it ends!" Splinter stated as they continued to move up the mountain.

The invisible Foot helicopter saw the moon had moved completely in front of the sun and the eclipse had begun. It was time.

The lead Foot Ninja activated the comns on the link that the entire Foot Clan shared. "Attention all Foot Soldiers! The Eclipse has begun! Initiate Operation: Dragon Slayer Phase One Immediately!"

* * *

 _Inside the volcano_

Within a third more compact bunker we're seven important individuals all wearing Fire Nation military uniforms. They we're the High Generals, the High Admirals, and the War Ministers. These we're the heads of the Fire Nation military and the Fire Lord's entire diet. Though there were also a few Fire Nation royal guards inside for their own protection.

"Is the eclipse starting?" One general asked.

"I believe it is." An admiral said. "Which means we only have to be here for a few minutes."

"You think the enemy will find us?" a war minister asked.

"I doubt it." Another admiral assured. "The Foot guaranteed this bunker completely undetectable."

Once that was said there was a sound of metal working on the other side of the only door in the bunker. The guards pointed their spears at the door, but once it opened it were revealed to be War Minister Qin, and his Foot Elite escort.

"Qin! Where have you been!?" One general questioned.

"Sorry, got a little lost." Qin replied as he walked in.

However, before anything else was said, right as the one Elite Ninja walked in there we're a few plums of smoke around him as the remaining three Foot Elite Ninja appeared in the bunker as well.

"The Foot Elite." A general said in surprise. "This is unexpected."

The Elite Ninja that was closest to the door was able to close it behind them; he then locked it, sealing off the only exit out of the bunker as all four Elite Ninja drew their respective weapons.

* * *

 _Ozai's Bunker_

Zuko and Karai together faced Ozai and his many guards. "Why are you here?" Ozai questioned the two.

"I am with Zuko." Karai said.

"And I am here to tell the truth." Zuko added as well.

"Telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse. This should be interesting" Ozai motioned for his guards to leave.

The royal guard quickly saluted before they left the bunker through a small door, leaving the only three remaining occupants.

"First of all, in Ba-Sing-Se, it was Shredder who took down the Avatar. Not me." Zuko revealed.

"Why would he lie to me about that?" Ozai asked.

"Because the attempt failed." Karai answered. "The Turtles saved the Avatar, he lives."

"What?!" Ozai angrily questioned.

"He and the Turtles are the ones responsible for the invasion." Karai continued. "In fact, they are in this volcano even as we speak."

"Get out!" Ozai spat as he stood up. "Both of you get out of my sight if you know what's good for you!"

"That's another thing; neither of us are taking orders from you anymore." Zuko replied.

Ozai looked furious. "You will obey me. Or these defiant breaths you share will be your last!" He looked ready to kill them; however, Zuko revealed his dao swords just as Karai took out her katanas.

"Think again!" Zuko exclaimed. "I am going to speak my mind, and you are going to listen!"

"And I swear that if you do anything that would threaten Zuko, you will answer to me!" Karai declared.

Ozai scowled, as he knew that without his Firebending he could not take them both. So he sat down and glared at them.

* * *

 _Decoy Bunker_

Leo, Aang, Sokka, Raph, Don, Toph, and Mikey each had their respective weapons as they angrily faced Hun.

"Where is he!? Where's the Fire Lord!?" Aang demanded.

Hun laughed while shaking his head as he stood up from his chair. "Oh you are priceless. Here you are facing the Foot' second-in-command and I'm not even worth you're time? You've got quite superiority complex Avatar Brat."

"Answer the question Hun!" Leo demanded as he pointed his katana to him.

"Why should I?" Hun questioned with a smirk.

"Stop wasting our time!" Sokka stated. "You are in no position to refuse!"

"And stick to the truth, I'll be able to tell if your lying!" Toph added.

"That's fine." Hun shrugged. "I guess I just won't say anything then."

"Wrong answer Hun!" Raph stated. "You start talking or…!?"

"Or what? You'll torture me?" Hun mocked. "I thought you we're the good guys. Aren't the good guys supposed to be all nice and wimpy?"

"I think we can make an exception with you!" Mikey glared as he twirled his nunchucks.

"Why are you even here Hun?" Don questioned.

"While all you freaks got your little Invasion going on, the Foot's got its own operation going on right now and we can't have you get in the way." Hun answered.

"Operation? What operation? What are you planning!?" Leo questioned.

Hun smirked. "I'll give you a hint. The fire that burns twice as bright only burns half as long."

Aang was a bit confused. "What… what's that supposed to mean?"

Raph glared. "He's wasting our time! Toph!"

"On it!" Toph used Earthbending to completely trap Hun in an earth-dome, exposing only his head. "You better start talking sense before we beat you senseless!"

"You can't weasel your way out of this one Hun. There's seven of us and only one of you!" Don pointed out.

Hun's smirked never vanished. "Count again."

Toph's eyes widened with a gasp. "He's right. He's not the only one in here!"

Everyone looked around. "What are you talking about?" Sokka asked. "There's no one here."

"Yeah I can't see anything." Aang said as well, but it was that statement that caused Leo's eyes to widen.

"We can't see them… Foot Tech Ninjas!"

It was revealed there we're at least twelve Foot Tech Ninjas surrounded the group as they revealed themselves. They wore blue and black tech armor with orange goggles and each bore a katana.

Aang and Sokka's faces we're one of complete and total shock. "INVSIBLE NINJAS?!" Sokka comically screamed with his eyes popping out.

"Not them again!" Don grimaced.

"Oh shell I hate these guys!" Mikey grimaced as well.

That wasn't the end of it. Hun gave a roar as he used his gauntlets, charged with electricity, to break through the earth-trap he was stuck in. "That's right freaks. This little game of Cat and Mouse is just about over."

Hun roared as he and the twenty Foot Tech Ninjas charged forward at the surprised heroes.

* * *

 _Third Bunker_

As this was going on, The Foot Elite have begun their attack, though it was more accurate to compare it to a slaughter. The guards tried to hold back the Foot Elite as they used their spears to block their weapons, but the Elite Ninja we're far more experienced so while the guards put up a good fight, they we're the first to go as they we're impaled, sliced, and cut down.

The High Generals, High Admirals, and War Ministers panicked as they tried to get out, but the door was sealed shut. One general tried to pry it open.

"Come on! Help us! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP US!"

His cries we're only answered by a spear impaling him through the chest. An admiral and two war ministers we're cornered by the Elite Ninja with the axe before he cut them down. Blood sprayed along the walls as the Elite with the twin-bladed-sword sliced at an admiral before facing another.

"Stop! No!" The admiral begged, but the Elite only responded with a slice across the chest, killing him.

The Elite Ninja with the trident impaled an admiral before he and the remaining Elite Ninja faced the only survivor: War Minister Qin, who got onto his knees to beg.

"Please! The war is over! We… we can work something out! We don't have to…"

He didn't finish his sentence as the Elite with the trident swept his weapon across his chest, killing the last member of Ozai's War Council.

One Elite Ninja accessed his comns. "Master Shredder, the Fire Nation's War Council has been terminated. Proceeding with Phase Two."

* * *

 _Outside_

The eclipse was still in effect as Bato and Casey made it to the top and looked down at the Royal City below them.

"Surrounded the periphery!" Bato ordered as the Invasion Force continued downward into the city. "We have to secure the palace by the time the eclipse is over!"

"Otherwise we'll be neck-deep in bad guys." Casey added as they led their forces that poured down into the Royal City.

As the Invasion Force began to spread throughout the city; Master Splinter and a squad of Earthbenders led by Haru and Tyro came face-to-face with a squad of Firebenders and soldiers.

"Stop!" Tyro ordered.

"The palace is being surrounded and you are outmatched." Splinter stated firmly. "Surrender!"

"We'll never surrender!" A Firebender exclaimed. He tried to perform an attack, but all he got was just a puff of steam. His Firebending has been blocked. "Uh… Warriors! Attack!"

Five Fire Nation soldiers with swords and spears tried to surround Master Splinter. He gave a small look before he flashed several quick punches and kicks. Less than a second later, the warriors fell down into unconsciousness.

The de-powered Firebenders quickly raised their hands into the air. "Okay, we surrender."

With the Invasion Force flooding into the Royal City, Katara and April had helped Hakoda to the top of the volcano where they got a good view of the city below.

"There it is. The Fire Nation Royal Palace." Hakoda laminated. "We've come so far."

"Its not over yet." Katara told her father. "You hope Aang and the others are okay?"

"I'm sure they're fine." April assured. "We just have to do our part and hope they succeed with theirs." The two young women helped the injured soldier down below.

* * *

 _Ozai's Bunker_

Karai looked upon Ozai with a hateful glare, but she allowed Zuko to be the one to speak first.

"For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me. To accept me." Zuko began. "I thought it was my honor that I wanted, but really, I just wanted to please you." Zuko began to get angry. "You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn." He pointed his right blade at Ozai. "My father, who challenged me, a 13-year-old boy to an Agni Kai! How could possible justify a duel with a child?!"

"It was to teach you respect!" Ozai replied.

"Respect?!" Karai question. "Zuko stood up for the right of an entire battalion that you we're willing to sacrifice and you choose to scar him for life, and you claim it to be an act of respect?! There is no respect with you. The only thing you value is power, even more than you do the people of your own nation! Your own family!"

"What do you know, Karai?" Ozai questioned to her. "You aren't even from this world."

"Perhaps not, but I know right and I know wrong. And I have the instinct to know which is which." Karai replied.

"She knows a lot more than you know." Zuko continued. "So do I! And I've had to learn it all on my own! Growing up, we we're taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history, and somehow the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world."

"There is no greatness in the acts your nation has committed in your name and that of your ancestors!" Karai added. "You're grandfather massacred an entire civilization of pacifists! How can you find greatness in the senseless slaughter of defenseless children!?"

Zuko was in complete agreement. "The people of the world are terrified of the Fire Nation! They don't see our greatness; they hate us! And we deserve it! We've created an era of fear in the world, and if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness."

Ozai couldn't help but laugh. "You're uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?"

Zuko smiled. "Yes, he has." This earned a glare from Ozai.

"You say I am not from this world." Karai began. "While this is true, but I have seen through this invasion that countless people are rising against your tyranny. You seemed so calm about it, which is until we revealed the Avatar to be alive. So I see it in your eyes, you're afraid!"

Ozai glared further at Karai as she spoke. "The Avatar has inspired countless people to rise against you, and you are powerless to stop it! You can send armies after him, but you wouldn't dare step of the throne you hide behind because you are too afraid to face him yourself!"

* * *

 _Decoy Bunker_

Leo clashed swords with one Foot Tech Ninja before kicking him away. Raph blocked one sword strike with his sai against another Foot Tech Ninja before grabbing him and throwing him to the wall; the same wall that Aang jumped off, as he jumped he created an air-wave with his staff, but the two Foot Tech Ninjas he was facing jumped above him and tried to slash at him, but he inhaled deeply and blew a massive gust of air that sent both ninja hard into the ceiling above them.

Don parried his staff against another Foot Tech Ninja's blade before he spun it and knocked the sword out of his hands before finishing off the ninja with a kick across the face. Sokka, Mikey, and Toph meanwhile ran toward the end of the bunker to clash with Hun.

Hun jumped into the air with his electrified gauntlets raised high and punched Mikey in the gut to send him flying. Toph brought an earth-column from each side of the bunker down towards Hun, but he punched through him with his powered gauntlets. Sokka tried to rush him with his space-sword, as he tried to slash, Hun blocked it with his right gauntlet before grabbing him by his leg and slamming him into the ground. Toph shot a rock right at Hun's face, causing him to let go of Sokka.

Toph created two massive rock-gauntlets in her hands to match Hun's gauntlets. He recovered from the rock-to-the-face as he saw her smirk. Hun smirked back.

"Bring it, brat." He accepted her challenge as he ran forward and Toph created an earth-ramp to slide after him and they clashed their fists.

Leo, Raph, Don, and Aang found themselves surrounded by twelve Foot Tech Ninjas who pressed the Foot Symbols on their chests to turn invisible.

"Oh great." Raph grunted. "Now what?!"

"Aang, create a smokescreen. Raph, you help Toph." Leo ordered

"On it!" Aang exclaimed as he twirled his staff like a helicopter-blade to pick up all the dust in the entire bunker and sent it flying around them. As the dust fell it began to cover the invisible Ninjas, revealing their silloutes to the enemy.

They never even got a chance to react as Leo came forward and made a series of slashes with his swords to cut down three Foot Tech Ninjas; while Don jumped in the air and slammed his staff hard on the head of one Foot Tech Ninja before spinning it and taking down two more. Aang rode an Air-Scooter and raised his right fist to create a diagonal earth-ramp to knock down all the remaining Foot Tech Ninja in the chamber.

Hun and Toph continued to clash and parry their gauntlets against each other. However, Toph's gauntlets we're starting to break apart as the electricity from Hun's own gauntlets broke apart the rocks. When Hun reeled back a massive punch, he came in and shattered both of Toph's rock gauntlets and sent her smacking into a wall.

"You're out of your league, kid." Hun mocked the downed Toph.

"I think you got that backwards ugly!" Raph yelled as he came down and slammed his foot into Hun's face, knocking him back. Raph then went on the offensive as he jumped up and laid a series of kicks to Hun's chest to knock him back. But Hun was able to catch Raph's leg to stop his attack.

Before he could deliver any kind of blow however, Mikey and Sokka both yelled as they came forward. Sokka slashed at Hun's chest, creating a cut that knocked him back as Mikey laid a multitude of nunchuck strikes across Hun's body. Hun stuttered back a bit before Toph recovered and created a shockwave with her foot stomp to send Hun flying back to the wall at the end of the bunker.

Hun growled as he grabbed the chair and used his strength to pry it from the ground and toss it at the group. Toph created a rock-shield to protect herself, Sokka, Mikey, and the recovering Raph from it.

Using this to his advantage, Hun began to run his way out of the bunker. Using his own strength and the electric-gauntlets he punched his way through any rock or earth obstacle in his way. He barreled through the group of Aang, Leo, and Don; knocking them down as he came out into the halls.

The two Turtles and Avatar quickly recovered as Raph, Sokka, Mikey, and Toph began their pursuit. Hun made a sharp right as he quickly ran down one tunnel with the entire group in hot pursuit. Leo was the first to notice.

"Guys wait!" The whole group stopped, even Hun in his spot. "It's a set up! Hun wants us to follow him!"

Sokka seemed to catch on as well. "Leo's right! He's playing! He's not even trying to win this fight!"

"What gave me away?" Hun smirked with a shrug.

"It's a trick!" Mikey exclaimed.

"You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time!" Toph pointed to Hun.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure those two already established that, idiots." Hun stated. "You can't seem to see what's right in front… oh wait, never mind. You're blind, you can't even see your own ugly face in the mirror."

That only angered Toph. "How about I turn _your_ face inside out!"

"Toph cool it!" Raph told her. "I hate his guts to, but Leo and Sokka are right! We don't want the guppy, we want the big fish!"

Don looked at his watch. "Guys, we got three minutes and forty two seconds until the eclipse is over!"

"Then we need to go now. Forget about Hun, he's not our priority!" Leo ordered.

"So what, we just ignore him?" Aang questioned to the leader Turtle.

"We're gonna have to. We've already wasted enough time! Lets go!" Leo stated as the others begrudgingly turned around and walked down the other path.

Hun stayed in his spot. "You freaks have no idea what you're walking into." He tried to warn.

"Ignore!" Sokka stated as they continued down the path.

Hun smirked as he still had one trick up his sleeve. "You're name is Sokka, right? You know, before our little fight in Ba-Sing-Se, the Foot captured a group of certain warriors that I'm sure you're familiar with. A couple of girls wearing fancy make up, and one of them used to constantly talk about you."

That got Sokka's attention as he turned around with a surprised look. Hun continued to speak in a mocking tone. "She kept going on and on about how you we're gonna come save her, but that was months ago. You never came, how tragic. You should have seen her face just as her tiny little heart broke into a million little bite sized pieces."

While everyone else looked at Hun questionably, with Toph and Raph glaring, something snapped inside Sokka. Tears welled up in his eyes as he yelled and angrily ran at Hun.

"Sokka wait!" Don tried to call, but he was almost there. "Toph!"

"I'm on it!" Toph shot a few rocks forward which grabbed Hun's wrists and pinned him to the wall, where Toph also almost completely encased Hun in the entire wall, save for his head.

Sokka's angry face was less than an inch from the smirking Hun. "Where. Is. Suki!?"

* * *

 _Ozai's Bunker_

Zuko and Karai continued to face Ozai.

"After we leave here today, Karai and I are going to free Uncle Iroh from his prison and I'm going to beg for his forgiveness. He's the one who's been a real father to me."

Ozai laughed mockingly at Zuko's declaration. "Oh that's just beautiful. And maybe he can pass onto you the ways of tea and failure."

"But we have come to a more important decision." Karai said. "We will join the Avatar and the Turtles, and we _will_ help them defeat the Fire Nation and the Foot!"

"Really?" Ozai guessed with a sinister grin. "Since you're both full-blown-traitors and you want me gone, why wait? I'm powerless, there's two of you and you both have your swords, why not just do it now?"

"Oh believe me, the offer is _very_ tempting." Karai glared. "But you are not worth it."

"That's right." Zuko agreed. "Karai and I have come to terms with our own destinies, and yours is about to meet its end real soon." He put his swords away as Karai did the same. "Goodbye."

"We will not meet again, Ozai." Karai said as they both turned around and began to walk away.

"Coward!" Ozai spat at his son walking away. "You think you're brave enough to face me but you'll only do it during the eclipse with this wretch by your side! If either of you have any real courage, you'll stick around till the sun comes out. Don't you want to know what happened to your mother, Zuko?"

"What?" Karai questioned.

That got Zuko's attention as he stopped and faced the evil-smirking Ozai. Karai turned around and glared daggers at Ozai. Meanwhile, the eclipse was slowly starting to pass. Karai could sense where this was going.

"Zuko, we have to go now!" She told him as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"I have to know." He told her before facing Ozai. "What happened that night?"

"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son, and I was going to do it." Ozai began, Karai glared at that last statement as Ozai continued. "Your mother found out, and swore that she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne, so she proposed a plan, a plan in which I would become Fire Lord, and your life would be spared."

Karai looked at her own watch. It showed only a minute and thirty seconds remaining. Her heart rate was picking up, as she knew exactly what was going to happen next.

* * *

 _Tunnels_

"Where's Suki!?" Sokka demanded to the restraint Hun.

"Sokka, we don't have time for this!" Leo told him.

Hun gave a laugh. "You have no time at all." Hun began. "Earlier, I said this was a game of Cat and Mouse. Do you know how that game works, Avatar?" Hun asked the confused Aang.

"Allow me to explain." Hun continued to explain to the Turtles, Aang, Sokka, and Toph. "Its basically a Cat hunting and killing a Mouse. But I think a better approach would be instead of hunting the Mouse is to draw it out. We would be using Bait. And that is what is happening right now. In case you haven't figured it out, the Foot Clan is the Cat, ready to go in for the kill."

"And let me guess, we're the Mouse?" Don guessed.

"Nope." Hun replied, confusing the group. "You're actually the Bait. We've known about your invasion the whole time, so you have to ask yourself something."

"Why haven't you done anything to stop it?" Aang asked.

"Yep." Hun said. "Because we needed you to draw out our prey into the open. The Foot is the Cat; your little Invasion is the Bait. So, the only question remains: Who is the Mouse?"

* * *

 _Ozai's Bunker_

The Fire Lord didn't notice something in the walls behind him, as it appeared there was a door opening to reveal his back as he continued to face Zuko and Karai.

"You're mother did vicious treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished."

Tears welled up in Zuko's eyes after hearing this. "So she's alive." Karai could only look to surprise in Zuko. She had believed that his mother was dead, but to see Zuko like this, her own friend knowing this revelation, she did not know what to think.

"Perhaps." Ozai assumed. "Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason. You're penalty will be far ste…."

Ozai never did get a chance to finish his sentence, nor did he get the chance to carry out his sentence. He gurgled in pain as he looked down and saw a pair of metal, bloodied, claws pierce through his chest, through his heart.

Zuko looked in surprise at this, while Karai simply glared knowing what had just happened. Blood spilled out of Ozai's mouth as he fell down from his spot, revealing none other than Shredder; standing in a doorway he'd used to sneak in, with blood on his claws.

Behind Shredder, at least two dozen Foot Ninja quickly came out from the door way, and a dozen more fell from the ceiling and quickly surrounded Zuko and Karai, as they stood back-to-back.

Ironic, Ozai could now feel the sun clearing as his Firebending was no longer blocked, but he could not use it as he was barley alive. He held the bleeding hole on his chest as he laid on the ground, looking up at the approaching Shredder.

"Hello Ozai."

"Shre… Shredder I… don't… why… I…?" He stuttered as he coughed up some more blood.

"Look at you." Shredder spat in disgust. "The mighty Fire Lord. You believe yourself to be the leader of a great nation, but you know nothing of true power." Shredder lifted his foot and placed it on Ozai's throat. "You've squandered countless resources; believing only your country's to be necessary. You've choked this entire world with meaningless blood. I assure you I will not make the same mistake. I will use what's left of this world to construct my own empire that will expand countless worlds!"

Shredder placed pressure on his foot to Ozai's throat, choking him. He gasped for breath as he already felt his own internal bleeding. "I will drain the Fire Nation dry of everything it has before I do the same with the rest of this pitiful planet! Thank you for your help Ozai, but I no longer require you're aid. Goodbye."

With enough pressure, Shredder had completely crushed Ozai's throat. It was done the Fire Lord was dead. Zuko and Karai both looked on, while they did not show any form of regret over the dead Ozai, as they believed he deserved this, they could only glare at the one being who is far worse than he is.

Shredder looked on to Zuko and Karai as he glared. "Zuko, I had expected you would try something like this. Pity, you are far stronger than your father or sister gave you credit for, you could have made a valuable ally."

"You never even gave me a choice!" Zuko exclaimed to Shredder. "You threatened to kill my friends and all the good people in my family if I didn't help you in Ba-Sing-Se! But I promise, as long as there is still life in me, I'll do everything in my power to stop you!"

Shredder dismissed this as he turned to his daughter. "I had expected this sort of treachery from Zuko, but you Karai?! I found you when you had nothing! I took you into my home! I fed you! Raised you! Trained you! And this is how you repay me?! You betray your own father!?"

"You are not my father!" Karai exclaimed to Shredder. "You did indeed give me a home, but I was never your daughter, I was your puppet, just another soldier for you. I believed you had valued honor, but Leonardo was right, the only thing you value is power! You claim to be better than Ozai, but you are no different, if anything you are worse for what you intend to bring to this world!"

The Shredder glared his red eyes at this defiance. "Very well, those who are not with me are against me! And I crush anyone, who stands against me!"

Zuko and Karai stood back-to-back as the Ninjas unsheathed their katanas ready to strike. "Zuko!"

"I'm on it." Zuko responded to Karai as he created several streams of fire around his arms and began to circle to create a large fire vortex around him and Karai; this temporarily blinded Shredder and his ninjas.

Using this to her advantage, Karai put on a metal glove before taking out the Sword of Tengu. She used its power to shoot to backward. A bolt of blue energy shot out from the sword and blew away the door. Zuko and Karai both quickly ran as fast as they could out of the bunker and into the tunnels.

"After them!" A Ninja ordered as the fire cleared.

"No!" Shredder stopped his forces from pursuing them.

"But Master, they have the Sword of Tengu and…."

"I am aware!" Shredder interrupted. "But we cannot afford to stray from the operation! We must continue, or everything we've done here will be for nothing!"

All the Foot Ninja bowed as Shredder accessed his comns. "Attention all Foot Soldiers. The time for games is ended. No more charades. Initiate Operation: Dragon Slayer Phase Three! Now!"

* * *

 _Tunnels._

Hun heard this declaration in his ear from the comn he had. Toph also heard it with her advanced hearing.

"Guys." She got everyone's attention with wide eyes. "I just heard Shredder's voice. He's about to pull something big!"

"What?" Aang questioned.

"And that would be my cue to leave." Hun said as he used his own strength and the electric gauntlets he had to break his way out of the restraints Toph had previously put him in. The group moved back to get some distance as they faced Hun.

"If I we're you freaks, I'd head outside." Hun told them. "Trust me, you and your little Invasion Force is gonna be in for one hell of a show."

Hun then began to run down the tunnels away from the group of young heroes.

"He's getting away!" Raph exclaimed.

"Raph, no! We've already wasted our time." Leo stopped his older brother.

"He's right." Don looked at his watch. "The eclipse is over."

"I feel for it." Sokka blamed himself. "I used up all our time."

"It's not our fault Sokka, the Foot knew we we're coming." Toph told him.

"Shredder and Hun played us." Mikey agreed. "They had everything planned out."

"And now it's too late." Sokka said.

"Maybe its not too late." Aang declared. "The eclipse is over, but I can face the Fire Lord anyway."

"Aang, something is telling me the Fire Lord is not the problem anymore." Leo began. "The Foot we're waiting, and remember what Hun said, with that whole Cat and Mouse thing; there's more going on than we know."

"But I'm ready!" Aang argued. "I came here with a job to do and everyone's counting on me!"

"I think Leo's right, Aang." Don agreed. "We thought we had the advantage but we didn't. Shredder planned for us to show up. If we go any further, we'd be walking right into a trap."

"Plus, Hun told us that we should go outside. Meaning he might have something planned for our friends! We have to get them out of here!" Toph was in agreement.

"As much as I hate to admit, I think we should leave. This just wasn't our day." Raph said.

"All our friends are gonna be in trouble soon if we don't get back outside and help them!" Mikey added.

"Guys I…" Aang tried. "I don't if I can…"

"Aang listen." Leo began "This whole thing was a trap, and Shredder's got something big going on. We need to get everyone out of here before all our friends get swept up in it. Until we know what exactly is going on here we can't rush in blindly! We need to leave now!"

Aang let everything sink in. He began to think and he realized his friends we're right. "I guess you guys are right."

Leo put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "There will be another day. I promise."

* * *

 _Outside_

The Invasion Force had the entire perimeter of the palace completely surrounded. The eclipse was over so everyone was taking off his or her eclipse glasses. Katara and April helped Hakoda to lean against a tank.

"So what now?" Casey questioned as Splinter looked outward to the palace. "The eclipse is over, so shouldn't something have happened by now?"

"I don't know." Hakoda admitted.

"I've got a feeling though with the eclipse done we'll be seeing some Fire Benders any second." April said. "But we still haven't seen a single Foot Ninja."

"You're right." Katara agreed. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Master Splinter's eyes shot open. "You're instincts are correct. I sense danger! Look!"

Everyone looked to where Master Splinter was pointing. The entire Invasion Force looked to see five Fire Nation War balloons rise into the air from behind the Royal Palace.

"Are those hot air balloons?" Casey questioned.

The Mechanist was the first to recognize them. "My own invention! Oh this is terrible!"

Gen spat to the side again. "Big deal, we can take down a few balloons."

"I am afraid those are the least of our worries." Leatherhead said as the small arm saw five much larger Fire Nation airships.

"Yes, those could be a problem." Usagi observed as the Invasion Force saw their airborne enemy.

While everyone could only look in absolute shock, Katara heard a familiar roar. She looked to see the approaching armored Sky Bison. "They're back!" She and April immediately ran to meet them.

Aang, Leo, Mikey, Sokka, Raph, and Don saw the Fire Nation air-fleet and could only look in shock. Even Raph was speechless. From the lack of voice, Toph could tell there was something bad going on.

Appa landed in the middle of the Invasion Force as Katara met Aang, she could tell by the look in his eyes that something bad had happened.

"It was all a trap!" Sokka stated as everyone got off.

"We ran into Hun in the tunnels and the Foot had everything planned out!" Don added.

"The Foot?! But… what I don't…." April stuttered.

As Mikey looked on toward the Fire Nation Air Force an even larger shadow began to shroud over them. "Uh… guys… what is that?"

The entire Invasion Force saw something that almost made there eyes pop out of their sockets. "What the shell?!" Raph exclaimed.

What they saw was a massive black aircraft carrier with four engines on each corner allowing it to stay airborne. This massive ship had a large assortment of turrets and guns across both its lower haul and the upper deck. It easily dwarfed the Fire Nation airships in size as it hung over the entire air fleet with its shadow cast over them. But what caught everyone's attention was the massive red insignia of the Foot Clan embedded on its haul.

"The Foot!" Splinter scowled.

"What the shell is that!?" Sokka screamed.

"I… what… what is that thing?" Katara stuttered.

"Its like a… a flying ship?" Mikey uttered.

The entire Invasion Force could look on in horror at the sight of it.

* * *

From within the giant flying aircraft carrier was a control room. There we're many consoles over the control room with several foot technicians working on each console. At the end of it was a glass floor, which Stockman used to, observe the land down below as well as the Fire Nation Air Fleet below them.

Dr. Stockman laughed. "Oh look at the pitiful Fire Nation. They believe themselves to be the most advanced civilization in this world? Those little air ships are nothing more than toys compared the grand magnificence of the Foot-Carrier!"

* * *

The Invasion Force could continue to stare in shock at the flying Foot-Carrier that continue to hover over the Fire Nation air ships.

"What sorcery is this?!" Usagi questioned.

"Not sorcery, science." Traximus said. "I can see a lot of Triceraton tech on that thing."

"I can even identify some Utrom based components as well." Leatherhead observed. "But I truly have never seen anything like this."

Don accessed his comn device. "Professor Honeycutt, I'm pretty sure you can see the same thing we're seeing up here, but what is it exactly?!"

* * *

The Foot-Carrier was so large it was even seen from the beach where the Swampbenders could only look with dropped jaws. The Fugitoid was still in his sphere.

"Oh my." He began to scan it and all sorts of holographic schematics popped up in his sphere. "I… I don't know what to say… it is an amalgam of Triceraton, Federation, and Utrom technology! Federation military-grade cannons, Triceraton long range weapons and engine design, its outer haul is made almost entirely out of the metals that are made from both Triceraton and Federation vessels, I am even detecting an Utrom energy core serving as its power source!"

* * *

Don heard all this through the comns. Everyone looked to him. "Well Don?" Leo asked.

"That…. That thing… is a flying fortress."

* * *

 _Foot-Carrier, Control Room._

"Dr. Stockman, sir." One Foot Technician at a console spoke. "We have the Fire Nation Air Ships in our targeting sites.

"Perfect." Stockman had an evil smile on his face as he looked to a screen on the ceiling where it showed a target look on the five Air-Ships below them.

* * *

Everyone outside could see the massive guns on the lower haul move and shift from their previous positions.

"Their guns are moving, we should get out of here!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Wait, they're not targeting us." Leo said, this confused the group around us.

"What?" Aang asked.

"What do you mean, they're not targeting us, who else would they be targeting?" Sokka questioned.

Leo's eyes widened as he remembered what Hun told them. _"Because we needed you to draw out our prey into the open. The Foot is the Cat; your little Invasion is the Bait. So, the only question remains: Who is the Mouse?"_

Realization hit Leo like a ton of bricks. "No." He breathed.

"What? Leo what is it?" Katara asked.

Master Splinter recognized the look on his son's face and knew what it meant. "So, that is his game." He said with a scowl.

"Leo?" April asked.

"I figured it out." Leo began as he turned to all his friends and the rest of the Invasion Force. "This whole thing was a game of Cat and Mouse. The Foot Clan was the Cat, hunting its prey. This is a trap, but it's not meant for us! We we're the Bait to lure the Mouse out. But now I see the Fire Nation is the Mouse."

"Leo, what are you saying?" Aang questioned.

Leo looked with a serious expression, facing the entire Invasion Force. "The Shredder is overthrowing the Fire Nation!"

Everyone in the Invasion Force; Aang, Mikey, Katara, Raph, Toph, Sokka, Don, Hakoda, Casey, Bato, April, Leatherhead, Haru, Tyro, Traximus, Usagi, Gen, the Mechanist, Teo, and the other warriors and benders could only look in complete and absolute shock with wide-eyed expressions of horror, while Master Splinter scowled at the Foot-Carrier.

* * *

"Open Fire!" Dr. Stockman ordered.

* * *

Everyone below looked in greater shock as the Foot-Carrier's guns opened fire, and just as Leo had assumed, the Invasion Force wasn't the target. Energy blasts and missiles shot out of the Foot-Carrier's turrets and hit the Fire Nation Air-Ships with explosive results.

"Whoa." Casey said with wide-eyes underneath his hockey mask.

"No way…" Mikey breathed.

"I don't believe it." Sokka breathed as well.

Master Splinter was the first to assume command. "Everyone! Let us use this to escape! While they are destracted we must leave the Fire Nation capital now before the Foot set their sights on us!"

"But what about…!?" Aang tried.

"Aang, if you go up there, you'll get shot down in less than a second!" Don told him.

"He's right. We need to go!" Leo ordered the Invasion Force. "Everyone back to the Beaches! We are leaving!"

With nothing else needing to be said, everyone began to make a quick retreat.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Royal Prison_

Zuko and Karai ran as quick as they could to the prison tower, where there we're signs of battle evident on the front entrance. Once inside, the place looked like an army had blasted through. The two even ran past a beaten guard who could shudder in terror as they ran past him.

They made it to the cell. "Uncle!" Zuko exclaimed only for them to look in surprise to find the prison cell completely broken down, with Iroh nowhere in sight.

"He's gone." Karai said. "How?"

Zuko looked to the beaten and tied up male guard who had been mocking Iroh since his imprisonment. "Where is my Uncle?!" Zuko questioned him as he held the guard up.

"He's gone. He busted himself out!" The guard said with his eyes shaking.

"How?" Karai questioned as well.

"I… I've never seen anything like it.. he… he was like a one-man army!" The guard replied.

Zuko dropped him. "He's gone… I failed him… again."

"Zuko, I understand this may be troubling but we need to leave." Karai told him. "I promise we will find him."

He regained his bearings. "You're right. He can take care of himself. Come on, lets get out of here."

Zuko and Karai then proceeded to leave.

* * *

 _Outside_

The Foot-Carrier continued to bombard the Fire Nation Air-Ships with its missiles and energy blasts. At this point, the three air-ships in the middle we're completely covered in flames as what was left of them was now falling to the ground. Once they landed, they all exploded, killing whatever survivors might have been on board.

The two outside and remaining Air-Ships tried to ascend, but we're still in very rough shape having taken a bit of a bombardment for them. Fire and smoke came up from the sides of them. As they tried to ascend, the Firebenders on board tired to shoot back, but the flames just bounced off the haul. This move proved to be a fatal mistake for them as there we're even larger cannons on the deck. They opened fire and completely tore apart what was left of the remaining Air-Ships. They we're both cleaved in half from the rapid-fire energy blasts. Both flaming halves of both ships fell to the ground and exploded once again just like the other three did.

Meanwhile, the War Balloons flew to try and get some distance. One Firebender on board could only look in terror.

"How… how could this have happened?!"

"I don't know but we need to…" A second Firebender, the one providing flames for the engine, tried to say, but he was interrupted as the Foot Helicopter deactivated its camouflage to appear in front of the balloon.

"You are not going anywhere." The Foot Ninja at the controls of the helicopter said as he pressed on a button on the trigger. Gatling-guns on the side of the helicopter opened fire and completely tore through the war-balloon, and the Firebenders on board, as if it we're tissue paper.

The remaining four War-Balloons attempted to circle around the helicopter and the Firebenders shot streams of fire at it, but a blue shield appeared around the entire helicopter to protect itself from the flames.

It opened fire again with Gatling guns and tore through the one in front of it. Three heat seeking misses also shot out of the sides. They easily locked onto the heat provided by the remaining three war-balloons and blew them up as soon as they made contact.

With that, the entire Fire Nation Air Force had been completely annihilated in less than ten minutes.

* * *

"Dr. Stockman." A Foot-Technician at the controls informed the doctor on-board. "The enemy is destroyed. But the Invasion Force is about to retreat."

"Then by all means, cut off their exit." Stockman ordered.

* * *

The Invasion Force was trying to make its way down the slopes of the volcano as quickly as they could. But when everyone looked up they could see the Fire Nation Air Force was already gone. Leo looked and saw the guns we're changing direction, they we're aiming toward the beeches.

Leo accessed his comns. "Professor, you and the Swampbenders need to get out of there! Now!"

" _But the submarines are our only way out of…"_

"Professor, that thing just obliterated five Fire Nation Air Ships in less than an hour, and you yourself said it had long range weapons! Get out of there! That's an order!" Leo ordered.

" _Understood. We are evacuating the area now."_

Sokka, Appa, Aang, Raph, Don, Mikey, Toph, and Katara heard all this as well as they quickly approached him.

"But those subs are the only way off this island!" Katara stated.

"It doesn't matter." Don replied. "That fortress in the sky can make direct hits even from where it is now."

They all saw the Foot-Carrier slowly making its way towards the beaches. Raph looked up and saw a few smaller guns aiming toward them. "Everyone! Take cover!" Raph exclaimed.

Toph made a large slab of earth cover her whole group, including Appa. Other Earthbenders mimicked similar actions in an attempt to protect the rest of the Invasion Force.

The Foot-Carrier's smaller guns opened fire. They bombarded the earth-slabs, which many Earthbenders, including Toph, used Earthbending to try and create pillars to provide more and more support. A few blasts hit the Earthbending tanks and completely de-railed them; fortunately the Earthbenders inside we're still protected by the outer armor.

The Foot-Carrier flew over the area and was getting closer to the beaches where the Fugitoid and the Swampbenders attempted to make a run for it, even Hue had to abandon his sea-weed body.

"That thing will be at the beach in less than a minute!" Mikey exclaimed.

"How are we all going to escape?" Sokka asked.

"We will not." Master Splinter said as he approached the surprised group.

"He's right." Hakoda agreed as Casey helped him. "We're not getting off this island."

"Then our only chance is to stay and fight!" Sokka declared as he punched his right fist into his left palm. "We have the Avatar, we could still win!"

"Sokka, I don't think even Aang can stand a chance against a flying fortress like that!" Don pointed out.

"Donatello is correct." Master Splinter said. "It is true that with the Avatar we could still win, but that will not be this day. My sons, you and a small group will escape on the Sky Bison while everyone else will stay behind and surrender."

"What!?" Leo exclaimed.

"Sensei you can't be serious!" Raph exclaimed as well.

"I am deathly serious my sons." Master Splinter said.

"We can't leave you guys behind!" Katara exclaimed as she came to her father. "We won't leave anyone behind!"

"This is not up for discussion." Master Splinter told them. "Everyone here is in agreement, we will surrender ourselves and allow us to be taken. But you all must leave now."

"Splinter is right. You are our only chance in the long run!" Hakoda agreed. "You all have to go with Aang somewhere safe, it's the only way to keep hope alive!"

"The youngest of our group should go with all of you." Bato agreed as well. "The adults will stay behind and surrender."

Leatherhead walked forward. "Yes, I believe that may be the wisest course of action. We may be prisoners, but we will survive."

Tyro and Traximus walked forward as well. "I've got experience with Fire Nation prisons. It's not going to be easy, but we'll get by." Tyro said.

"I too am familiar with being a prisoner of war." Traximus added. "I'll do what I can to help."

Leo looked toward the Foot-Carrier. "They're at the beach already!"

With the Fugitoid and the Swampbenders at a safe distance, they watched as the Foot-Carrier opened fire with its missiles and completely blew apart the submarines.

But that wasn't the end of it. A small satellite-like dish opened up on the lower haul of the Foot-Carrier. It projected a large blue light that shined over the beach where a massive three-dimensional projection of Shredder appeared.

"Attention all! I am Oroku Saki, I am the Shredder and the Master of the Foot Clan!" Shredder's voice echoed throughout the capital. "Fire Lord Ozai is dead!" That one piece of news caught the entire Invasion Force by total surprise, especially Team Avatar and the Turtles.

"His entire War Council has been terminated and the Air Force has also been decimated! Any survivors are presently being hunted down and terminated as well. And as of this moment, the whole of the Fire Nation: the entire country, its colonies, its resources, its people, soldier or civilian, every last man, woman, and child is now the property of the Foot! The war that has ravaged this pitiful planet for the last century is now over, and I am the victor! All this world's resources now belong to me! And now, I direct this message to the accursed Turtles and the Avatar."

Aang, Leo, Raph, Toph, Mikey, Katara, Don, Sokka, and Master Splinter, as well as the rest of the Invasion Force all paid close attention to Shredder's declaration.

"I would like to personally thank you, for without you, I could not have achieved this victory, for I have now severed the Dragon's head and will claim my prize! For this I make you an offer, your entire army must now surrender to my forces immediately! If you do this, I give you my word they will be spared, however if you make any attempt to defy me, I promise I will hunt down all those that you care for. Every single member of your family and all your friends will be slaughtered like cattle! This is my only offer! The decision is yours, but your world is mine!"

Shredder gave a mighty laugh, which echoed throughout the capital and struck fear into even the hardiest of warriors in this Invasion Force. The hologram cut off leaving a speechless army.

Leo and Sokka both grimaced, as they knew retreat was their only option at this point.

Toph used Earthbending for the Mechanist to help his paralyzed son get up onto Appa's saddle. They hugged each other.

"Bye Son."

"Bye Dad. I'm really proud of you." Teo parted with his father as Toph lowered his pillar.

The Duke tried to climb up on Appa's horn, but Pipsqueak helped him up. "I'm going to miss you Pipsqueak."

"Take care, the Duke." Pipsqueak said as he helped the Duke up onto the saddle.

Haru embraced his father Tyro as well. "We'll be back for you Dad."

"If we don't escape on our own first." Tyro swore.

"April, you should go to." Casey told her as he walked up to her.

"Casey, you're coming to, aren't you?" April questioned.

Casey lifted his hockey mask. "Sorry, I'm gonna surrender with everyone else."

"What?!" April exclaimed. "No way, you're coming with us!"

"April look." Casey grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. " These guys are gonna need my help. I'm going to try to organize a break out and we'll meet up with you later. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Tears welled up in April's eyes as she embraced him in a hug, which he returned. "Casey! You big lug! I'm proud of you!"

"Take care of yourself babe." Casey also handed her his duffle bag of sports gear and his hockey mask. "Look after this stuff, it belonged to my dad."

April nodded as she rubbed the tears from her eyes. "Yeah, okay."

Leo faced Usagi and Gen. "Usagi I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag you and Gen into this."

"There is no need to apologize my friend." Usagi assured. "This isn't the first time I've surrendered to an enemy. I promise we will fight again some day."

"But you owe me a lot of food for this." Gen joked.

Leo gave a smirk. "It's been an honor, and I know we will see each other again." Leo bowed as Usagi and Gen bowed back.

Traximus walked up towards Raph. "Raphael, I want you to have this." He handed Raph his axe.

Raph was surprised as he held the weapon. "Trax I… I can't take this."

"I insist." Traximus told him. "I want to give it someone I trust, whom I know will take care of it."

Raph gave a smirk. "Take care of yourself big guy." The two fist-bumped.

Mikey and Don both faced Leatherhead. "You two must look out for everyone else. I promise that we will meet each other again some day."

"You got that right LH." Mikey agreed.

"Take care of yourself Leatherhead." Don told him.

Katara and Sokka both faced their father. "We lost today, but we've never been this close. We tasted victory and that counts for something."

"We'll miss you Dad." Katara was the first to embrace her father, and Sokka followed suit as well.

"Bye Dad. We won't be apart for too long this time, I promise." Sokka promised.

Before they mounted Appa; Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey all faced their adoptive father.

"You four have grown so much. You have accomplished things I would never have conceived of. I have never been more proud to be your sensei, and your father." Master Splinter told them.

Mikey sniffled a bit as all four Turtles embraced their sensei.

"Thanks for everything, Master Splinter." Leo said. "We'll see each other again soon. That's a promise."

The Turtles, April, Toph, Katara, Sokka, The Duke, Haru, and Teo all boarded Appa with Momo. Aang was at the reins as he held his head down, with tears flowing from his eyes. Katara and Leo joined him and put supportive hands on his shoulders. Aang looked to the Turtle he saw as an older brother, and to the one he loved who both offered him supportive smiles.

Aang stood up as he faced everyone in the Invasion Force. "Thank you all for being so brave, and so strong! I'm going to make this up to you!"

Katara and Leo got into the saddle with the others as Aang took the reins and Appa soared into the sky as everyone on board looked back to their loved ones.

Once Appa was out of sight, it wasn't too long after that Foot Ninja quickly appeared and surrounded the entire Invasion Force. Several dozen slid down from the Royal City down the slopes; while several other dozen climbed up quickly from down below. Over a hundred Foot Ninja approached the Invasion Force, each one baring a katana sword or a spear.

A plum of smoke appeared before Master Splinter, Hakoda, Casey, and Bato. The smoke cleared to reveal the Foot Elite.

"I take it these are Foot Soldiers?" Hakoda assumed.

"That is correct." Splinter confirmed.

Bato was the first to walk up to the Elite. "We surrender."

"A wise decision." One Elite Ninja replied.

Casey helped up Hakoda. The Water Tribe Chieftain gave a slight smirk towards the Elite Ninja. "Nice hats by the way."

Casey chuckled while the Elite Ninja all glared.

* * *

Appa flew well past the Foot-Carrier and well outside their firing range. "Dr. Stockman, we have them in our sites. Should we follow them?"

"Negative." Stockman said. "We need to secure the capital and make sure no Fire Nation soldiers survive, and that the Invasion Force is captured. Besides, they'll be back."

* * *

The armored Sky Bison flew with all of its passengers as far away from the Fire Nation capital as they could.

"So, where are we going?" Leo asked Aang.

"I know just the place to go where we'll be safe for a while. The Western Air Temple." Aang answered as he made for Appa to fly in that direction.

As the Sky-Bison flew in the clouds, no one seemed to notice a small war balloon following them. The only two passengers being Karai and Zuko, with the Sword of Tengu in their possession.

* * *

 _Fire Lord's Throne Room_

The Shredder stood in the throne room of his latest victim with Hun as well as Stockman as they reported to their master.

"The capital is secure, Ozai is dead, the entire Fire Nation is now under the Foot's control, and the Invasion Force has surrendered." Hun informed.

"I have also sent out word to the remaining Fire Nation bases of our little story that we made. It won't be long till they all bow down to us." Stockman added.

"What of the Turtles, and the Avatar?" Shredder asked.

"Gone Master." Hun answered. "They escaped with a small number of resistance fighters." The Shredder glared. "With all due respect Master Shredder, we have now two armies under our command, and we pretty much rule this entire planet. I think a couple of freaks and kids aren't going to do much other than…"

"Karai and Zuko have fled with the Sword of Tengu!" Shredder interrupted. This caught Hun and Stockman both by surprise. "Those two have stated their intentions of joining our enemies! And with the Sword in their possession, they could have the power to undue everything we've worked towards!"

"Oh, I don't think so." Stockman said. "The construction crew in Ba-Sing-Se has already begun work on our little project for Sozin's Comet and it should be prepared on schedule. Not even Karai's newest allies can stop it."

Shredder glared at Stockman, causing him to shudder. "Do not underestimate the Turtles and the Avatar Stockman! You've made that mistake with the Turtles countless times and each time they bested you!"

"Master." Hun began. "We did however managed to make contact with the Turtle clones and they managed to catch our enemies' trail. They should catch up to them within two days from now."

This seemed to ease Shredder. "Good, give the clones the instruction to destroy them all, and to bring the Sword of Tengu to me as soon as they have it."

"Will do, Master" Hun responded.

One Foot Elite Ninja entered the throne room and bowed on his knees. "Master Shredder, the Princess has awoken and has demanded an audience with you."

"Then bring her in." Shredder replied.

"As you wish."

With that, the three remaining Foot Elite escorted in a less-than-pleased Azula into the throne room as she faced Shredder with a scowl.

"You have some explaining to do, Shredder." Azula scowled.

"Now, now, is that any way to treat the man who saved your life?" Shredder mused.

"Saved my life?!" Azula angrily questioned. "You call drugging me, tying me up, gagging me, and stuffing me into a small air-vehicle for the whole invasion protecting me?! When my father hears about this he'll…"

"Your father is dead." Shredder interrupted.

This caught Azula completely off guard. Her eyes widened, as she couldn't muster a response right away. "What…?"

"I am sorry." Shredder told her, in fake sincerity.

"How?" Azula questioned in a state of disbelief. "We thought of everything." Tears seemed to well up in her eyes. "How could he be…?"

"It would seem your brother was more clever than you believed." Hun began. "He and Karai have been spies the whole time. They kept in constant communication with the Avatar and the Turtles. They told your original plan to them and helped lead the entire Invasion Force to your old man."

"This cannot be." Azula fell onto her knees. Tears seemed to fall down. "I don't believe this. They betrayed us?"

"That is why I had you stowed away." Shredder told her. "So that you would be kept safe."

Azula looked with a face of anger and teary eyes as she faced Shredder. "But why didn't you save my father?! WHY!? WHY DIDN'T YOU!?"

"There was nothing I could have done." Shredder answered as he lifted his helmet to reveal his face as Oroku Saki. "By the time I discovered this treachery I could not do anything to alter it. Your father's fate was sealed."

"So… we lost the war?" Azula looked down as tears continued to flow.

"No, we did not." Stockman said, surprising Azula. "I have managed to use our organization's resources to construct a near indestructible war machine. While your brother and Karai we're able to sabotage the Air-Ships, which led to their destruction, they could not touch my creation, which was able to successfully repel back the Invasion. Although our two little traitors managed to escape with the Turtles, the Avatar, and a few others."

Azula truly did not know what to say. "Azula, I am truly sorry for all of this, but now is not the time to morn." Oroku Saki told her. "Your brother and Karai have taken a very powerful weapon, that in the Avatar's hands could undo everything that your country has built in the last century. That being said, finding them is our top priority, and I will need you by my side for that."

"Need me?" Azula questioned.

Oroku Saki put his helmet back on. "While this outcome was unfortunate, your father told me that in the unlikely event he should perish, his powers would shift to me. Seeing how that has happened, the burden of the throne has fallen to me now. You could say that I am the new Fire Lord."

Azula looked and listened to Shredder intently. "Unfortunately." Shredder continued. "Though my resources are vast, I alone cannot command the combined might of both the Foot and the Fire Nation. And so, you will assume command, just as you have done before."

"Really?" Azula questioned.

"Should you choose to accept this would be the new chain of command." Shredder explained. "Dr. Stockman will remain in charge of the tech division, leading to the construction of powerful war machines to enforce our rule in this world. Hun will command the Foot Soldiers with my Elite Ninja. And so, the Fire Nation's military will fall under your complete command. Their entire army and navy will all answer directly to you."

Shredder extended his hand to Azula. "So, Princess Azula, will you join me? Will you aid me in the rise of an empire that will grow and expand beyond not just your world, but countless others?"

Azula's look turned into that of an evil smile. "I would be honored." She shook his hand before she bowed on her knees to him. "I will join you, Master Shredder."

"Good, welcome to the Foot, Azula." Shredder congratulated as he let loose an evil laugh that echoed throughout the entire Royal Palace.

 **Done.**

 **My god that was long. I'm sure many of you didn't see all of this coming. So yeah, obviously things are going to be different in the next few chapters. Shredder has killed Ozai and his followers and has successfully taken over the Fire Nation.**

 **Not only that but he has successfully manipulated Azula into joining him as well. If you all recall back in TMNT (2003) season 1, he almost did the same for Leo, and if Shredder was able to almost trick Leo, it is quite obvious he can even manipulate Azula.**

 **But not all hope is lost. Once our heroes land in the Western Air Temple they will gain two new and strong allies, along with a very powerful weapon that could help them to end Shredder's rule over the Four Nations once and for all.**

 **Thank you all for your patience, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will be back with more soon.**

 **COWABUNGA!**


	25. The Western Air-Temple

**Hey everyone. Thank you for waiting, I'm sure this is one particular chapter you have all been looking forward to reading. Of course though, things will be slightly different given the situation the protagonists find themselves in, and what happened both in Ba-Sing-Se and the Fire Nation capital.**

 **Once again, thank you for waiting, now lets get started.**

 **The Western Air Temple**

What was left of the failed Invasion Force had been walking under the hot sun in a barren field for what seemed like hours. Aang, Leo, Katara, Raph, Toph, Mikey, Sokka, Don, April, Haru, Teo, and the Duke walked alongside the still-armored Appa to the place where they could regroup. Momo was also present, resting on top of Aang's head

The scene was nothing short of depressing. Not only did they fail the Invasion, but the Shredder and his Foot clan had completely overtaken the Fire Nation; in addition, many of their friends and families that had been with them during the battle had been captured by the Foot.

As the heroes all slumped/walked to their destination, while some dragging their weapons; Raph carried the axe given to him by Traximus as April carried the hockey mask and duffle bag of sports gear that belonged to Casey Jones.

"This is humiliating." Katara said.

"Which part?" Raph questioned. "The part where we got our shells kicked by the Foot, or that we have to walk to this stinking Air Temple?"

"Both." Katara replied.

"Sorry guys." Aang apologized. "But Appa gets tired carrying all these people."

"I can't believe what Shredder did." Mikey stated. "He took over the entire Fire Nation."

"I'd like to know how he even did that." Sokka said. "How is it one guy was able to completely overthrow the Fire Nation in one day, when no one in the world has been able to do for a hundred years?!"

"We must have missed something." Don guessed. "Something we didn't take into account."

"Look guys, it doesn't matter how it happened, what matters is what we have to do to strike back." Leo told the group.

"And how do we do that, fearless leader?" Toph questioned.

"I don't know." Leo said honestly. "I don't know, but we'll think of something."

"I wonder how the rest of the troops are." Teo wondered.

"The Foot are probably having them sent to some kind of prison." April guessed.

"That sounds about right." Haru responded. "Seems like my dad just got out, and know he's going back in."

"I miss pipsqueak." The Duke said in a somber tone.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." April told them. "They've got both Casey and Master Splinter with them, not to mention a couple of our friends to."

"Great, in the meantime the rest of us are having blisters on our feet!" Sokka whined.

"Quit whining Sokka, it ain't helping!" Raph told him.

"How far are we from the Western Air-Temple?" Leo asked as they continued to walk.

Toph stopped in front of the group when she felt something with her feet. "Hey, where here! I can feel it!" She joyfully exclaimed.

The group came before a cliff, however when they all looked forward they saw nothing.

"You sure Toph? I don't see anything." Mikey observed.

"Yeah I think your feet need their eyes checked." Katara agreed.

"Feet don't have eyes." Don pointed out.

"But don't see nothing!" Raph angrily said. "Just a whole bunch of nothing!"

Aang recognized the area they we're in. "No, Toph's right. We are here!"

Sokka looked around and saw nothing, he shrugged in response. April and the others looked around as well. Leo took the moment to think, he walked closer to the cliff and looked down, that's when realization hit him.

"The temple is under the cliff!" Leo exclaimed.

Leo was right, the entire Western Air Temple was built from the stone underneath the cliff where it hung over the deep chasm below.

"Wow. It's amazing!" Toph could feel it all with her seismic sense.

* * *

In one area of the Western Air Temple, a rope was thrown down. Zuko and Karai both slid down the rope, Karai still carried the covered Sword of Tengu with her. The two reached a solid piece of ground and jumped before landing.

Karai took the moment to observe the architecture of the temple, particularly the statues of the Air Nomads meditating.

"Incredible." She breathed. "This place, it seems so… so… peaceful." Though Karai looked down a bit after remembering what happened to the Air Nomads. It still disgusted her beyond belief what happened to them.

As Karai observed the area around her, Zuko looked outward to the sky and let a memory unfold.

* * *

 _Flashback, three years ago_

Prince Zuko, in the armor of the Fire Nation Prince stood looking outward. He had an eye-patch over his right eye where his father had burned him. His Uncle Iroh was by his side.

"What a stunning view!" Iroh marveled.

"The only view I'm interested in seeing is the Avatar in chains!" Zuko exclaimed.

Iroh's smile vanished. "You know, the Avatar hasn't been seen for a hundred years. The chances of finding him here are very slim."

Zuko was still undeterred. "First we'll check each of Air Temples, then we'll scour the world, searching even the most remote locations until we find him!"

"Prince Zuko, its only been a week since you're banishment. You should take some time to heal and rest." Iroh advised.

Zuko turned back with an angry look on his face. "What else would I be expected to hear from the laziest man in the Fire Nation!?"

Iroh gave a deep sigh as Zuko continued.

"The only way to regain the my honor is to find the Avatar, so I will!"

* * *

 _End Flashback_

Zuko gave a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Karai walked towards him. "What is on your mind?"

"Just thinking about old times." Zuko responded with a sigh. Karai had a look of sympathy as she put a hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her in response.

"I'm really glad you're here Karai, I don't know if I'd be able to handle this on my own."

Karai gave her own smile. "I feel the same way." She responded. They both heard a familiar roar.

Zuko and Karai both hid behind a large pillar as they saw Appa fly off in the distance. They both looked towards each other and agreed that now would probably be not the best time to talk with the others so they ran up a set of stone stairs.

* * *

Appa had set down near a large fountain in the Western Air Temple as everyone got off. Everyone looked around, the Turtles and April we're the most fascinated.

"Wow." April breathed. "Look at this place. It's incredible!"

"It all looks upside down." Mikey said. "Cool."

"This place is built into the cliffside. Imagine how long it took to construct something like this." Don observed. "Unless they had help from Earthbenders it must have taken several decades, maybe even a whole century for something this complex."

"Well this place is certainly big, so we're probably not going to get stir crazy down here." Raph said.

Leo looked around and especially took notice of how the temple was built underneath the cliffside. "Well it will take Shredder a while to find us down here, but he _will_ find us eventually."

Teo looked around a bit with the Duke. "It seems so different from the Northern Air Temple. I wonder if there are any secret rooms."

Haru decided to go exploring. "Lets go check it out." He ran towards a set of stairs leading to a bridge. Teo and the Duke looked towards each other and decided to join him.

Aang was about to join them, but Leo and Katara both stopped him. "You guys go, I think we need to talk about some things." Katara told them.

"Stick together and try not to get lost." Leo told them. "We can't afford to loose anyone else."

Haru gave an understanding nod as he helped Teo up the stairs. "Got it."

"I'll race you Duke!" Teo challenged as he moved forward on his fast wheelchair.

"I told you, it's _the_ Duke!" The Duke responded before he and Haru ran after them.

Aang turned to face Katara and Leo. "Why can't I go?"

"Because we need to figure out what our next step is." Leo told him. "The Invasion was a bust, so we need a new plan."

"And since you're the Avatar, maybe you should be part of this." Katara added.

Aang begrudgingly sat down with his arms crossed, joined by Raph, April, Sokka, Toph, Mikey, and Don; with Leo and Katara. "Fair enough."

"Okay, lets take a look at our current situation." April said. "We've lost most our allies and friends, and Shredder is now in control of the Fire Nation."

"Given that country's resources, plus his own, it'll make him an even more dangerous threat than Ozai, and even more than what he was before." Don added.

"Yeah our situation basically sucks." Mikey said.

"I still want to know how he did all that." Sokka pointed out. "Seriously, how the heck did he take down the Fire Lord when no one could this last century?!"

"You literally asked that question before." Raph told him.

"Okay, well does anyone have an actual plan?" Aang irritatingly questioned.

"Well if you ask me, it's probably going to be the same basic plan as before, with a few minor alterations." Leo told Aang. "You need to master all four elements before Sozin's Comet comes, but instead of fighting Ozai we're fighting Shredder."

Aang wasn't convinced. "Are you guys forgetting what happened the last time I fought Shredder?!"

"You weren't ready back then." Don pointed out. "This time you will be."

"And besides you're not fighting him by yourself either." Leo said. "Shredder's our enemy to, the best way for us to take him down is for us all to fight him together. But if we're gonna do that, we all need to be at our best, which in your case means mastering Firebending."

"Oh yeah, that's great. No problem, I'll just do that." Aang stated in obvious sarcasm as he flicked a rock.

"Geeze don't be such a wet blanket about it." Mikey stated.

"Why do we have to wait for the comet anyway?" Toph asked. "Shredder's not a Firebender, its not like he can use it."

"He'll find a way to make it work for him." Leo said. "He always finds a way."

"Getting back to the 'mastering-four-elements plan' no one said it was going to be easy." Katara told the young Avatar.

"Well its not even going to be possible!" Aang exclaimed. "Where am I supposed to get a Firebending teacher?!"

"That's a good point." Don admitted.

Katara began to think. "We could look for Jeong-Jeong." She suggested.

Aang still wasn't convinced. "Yeah right, like we'll ever run into Jeong-Jeong again." He laid back.

"Who's Jeong-Jeong?" April asked Toph.

"No clue." She shrugged. "But if it's someone important we'll find out."

"Oh well, I guess we can't come up with anybody." Aang began to run out. "Why don't we just take a nice tour around the temple?" He suggested as he ran out on his new Gilder and flew out with Momo by his side.

"Aang wait!" Leo called but he was already long gone.

Raph face-palmed. "Oh not again. Why do we have to put up with this kid again?"

"Because he's the messiah for this planet." Don reminded.

"Is he always like this?" April asked Mikey.

"Sadly, yes." Mikey replied.

Sokka tried to think. "There's got to be someone who can teach him Firebending."

"We can always grab a random Firebender and force him to teach Aang." Raph suggested.

"I'm okay with that plan." Sokka agreed.

"No." Leo insisted. "We don't do that."

"You got any better ideas?" Toph asked.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a campsite of a nearby forest where Zuko's war-balloon was parked, he began to pace around to practice his 'redemption speech'.

"Hello, Zuko here. But I guess you probably already know me, sort of. Uh… so, the thing is… I have a lot of Firebending experience, and I'm considered to be pretty good at it. We'll you've seen me… you know when I was attacking you? Uh, yeah I guess I should apologize for that. But anyway, I'm good now. I mean, I thought I was good before but… Now I realize I was bad but anyway… I think its time I joined your group and taught the Avatar Firebending."

Karai had leaned back on a tree with her arms crossed, and a large bullfrog next to her. "I remain unconvinced." She said as though she we're his practice audience. The bullfrog crocked as well. "And so is he."

Zuko sighed. "Yeah, I probably expect that. I don't have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. What would you say?"

Karai began to think. "Well for one, I would get straight to the point. Don't be around the bush, just say it."

"Do you think they'd listen to us?" Zuko asked.

"Well I know for certain that Leonardo will." Karai replied. "The others, I'm uncertain."

The bullfrog crocked again as they both looked at it. "What exactly do we have to offer them anyway?" Zuko asked. "I mean, yeah I can teach the Avatar Firebending, and you're a great warrior, and probably know a lot about the Foot; but I'm sure they probably want more."

"I believe that they may want to know exactly how the Shredder was able to overthrow Ozai and take over the Fire Nation, so we'll tell them that, and how he's able to rule that nation without them rebelling against him." Karai became serious. "But one thing is certain, no matter what, they must take the Sword of Tengu!"

"Are you sure it's really all that?" Zuko asked. "I trust you Karai, but its hard to me for imagine that one sword can be so powerful."

"I've only seen its power a few times myself, but that was more than enough. I've never seen a weapon of such power." Karai responded. "In Shredder's hands, I doubt even the Avatar could stop him."

Zuko was a bit surprised. "All the more reason for them to take it." He sighed. "Karai, I'm sorry if it looks like I'm dragging you into this…"

"You have nothing to apologize for." Karai assured him. "This is as much my choice as it is yours. No matter what happens, I will never leave your side."

Zuko couldn't help but smile. "Thank you Karai, I'll be at your side to all the way." She smiled back in response. The bullfrog crocked near them again.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon as the sun began to set and orange filled the sky. Aang flew on his glider with Momo by his side. Though there was the familiar roar from Appa as he flew with all four Turtles, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and April to try and catch up with Aang who was purposely avoiding them.

"Aang! Can we talk about you learning Firebending now?!" Katara called to him.

Aang tried to act like he didn't hear her. "What?! The wind is too loud in my ears!"

"There is no wind Aang!" Leo called out to him as well. "We know you can hear us!"

"What?! You guys want to see a trick?!" Aang purposely misinterpreted. "Well check out this loop!" The young Avatar performed an areal loop, as did Momo who glided by his side

"Quit being a baby and deal with this!" Raph exclaimed angrily to Aang.

"Aang, I think we should be making some plans about our future!" Sokka called out as well.

"Seriously, I am the expert at goofing off, but I know this isn't the time for it!" Mikey called to Aang.

Aang flew back down to the spot they we're at before while Appa flew the rest back down as well. "Alright! We can do that while I show you the giant Pai-Sho table!"

They landed on the ground. "You can show us later." April told him. "Right know we need to talk about our plans."

"I think that'll have to wait." Toph said, getting everyone's attention. "We've got company."

Appa moved out of the way as Toph pointed behind her where everyone saw two familiar individuals waiting for them; a certain Firebending former prince and a Kunoichi formerly affiliated with the Foot clan. The group certainly didn't expect to see them here.

"Hello." Zuko greeted.

Leo looked at him but was even more surprised at the person next to him. "Karai?"

"We need to talk." She said.

Raph immediately took out the axe he had. "Talk to the axe cause the ears ain't listening!"

Mikey, Don, Aang, Sokka, and April seemed to be in agreement as they each drew their respective weapons while Katara took a Waterbending stance. Leo threw a hand out in front of them.

"Hold on! Before anyone does anything they might regret lets find out what's going on first." Leo told them.

"Well we saw you guys flying around, so we thought we'd wait for you here." Zuko said.

Appa walked towards the two, Zuko in particular. He roared at first but then licked Zuko, causing Aang to look in disbelief. Appa took the moment to sniff Karai as well; she slightly backed away cautiously, but was surprised when the Sky-Bison licked her to, also to Aang's disbelief.

"I get we're probably be the last people you're expecting to see here." Zuko said.

"Not really, since you chased most of us all over the world." Sokka stated.

"And you guys are actually more like the _second_ to last people we'd expect to find here." Don said. "The first to last would be Shredder himself."

Zuko sighed a bit. "Yeah that sounds about right. But before you ask, Shredder did not send us, and we're not here to fight."

"Then why _are_ you guys here?" Leo asked.

Karai began to speak. "There is no easy way to say this so I will be direct. We want to join you"

This caught the entire group by surprise. "What?" Katara angrily questioned.

"You can't be serious!" Raph angrily exclaimed.

"We are dead serious." Karai began. "Zuko is a master Firebender, he can teach the Avatar everything he knows. Where as I can tell you anything you wish to know about the Foot: their base locations, weaknesses in their technology, their plans, everything. I would also like to fight by your side as well."

"Wait, you guys wanna what now?!" Toph questioned

"You can't possibly think that any of us can trust you two, can you?!" Katara angrily questioned. "I mean, how stupid do you think we are?!"

"Yeah, all Zuko has ever done is hunt us down and try to capture Aang!" Sokka pointed out.

"Plus you've always worked for the Shredder, Karai!" Raph pointed out as well. "You're just his little pet!"

"I've done some good things!" Zuko said. "I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba-Sing-Se, but I set him free! That's something!" Appa licked Zuko again.

"Appa _does_ seem to like him." Mikey pointed out. "And he seems to like Karai to." Appa licked Karai to emphasize this.

"They just probably covered themselves in honey or something so that Appa would lick them." Sokka guessed.

"Seriously? Honey?" April questioned with a raised eyebrow. "That sounds pretty ridiculous"

Leo looked towards Karai. "Are you serious about this Karai? You've really turned your back on the Shredder."

Karai nodded. "I have. I should have done it long ago. You we're right Leonardo, you we're right all along. The Shredder knows nothing of honor, I was only a fool to think otherwise."

Don scoffed a bit. "Well what took you so long? And yes, that was a rhetorical question."

Zuko looked down. "I can understand why you wouldn't trust us, me especially. I know I've made some mistakes in the past."

"Like when you attacked our village?!" Sokka recalled.

"Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?!" Katara recalled as well.

"Oh hey, what about the time you two cronies helped Shredder and that whack-job Azula take over Ba-Sing-Se and almost killed Aang?!" Raph angrily yelled.

"I didn't have a choice back there!" Zuko replied. "The Shredder threatened to kill everyone I knew if I didn't help him back then!"

This caught Leo and April by surprise as they looked to each other. "Are you serious?" April questioned. "The Shredder blackmailed you?"

"Yes." Zuko said. "He told me he'd hunt down my entire family and my friends, and butcher them if I didn't work with him."

Katara didn't believe it for a second. "Oh come on! You expect us to believe that?!"

"That sounds like a total load!" Raph agreed.

"It's not." Toph said, surprising the group. "Zuko is telling the truth."

Aang, Leo, Mikey, and Don looked in surprise. "Well, to be fair, that _does_ sound like something Shredder would do."

Mikey then spoke up. "Okay, Scarface. Lets say you weren't blackmailed. What would you have done?"

Zuko looked serious. "I would have fought him myself."

This caught the Turtles and April by surprise. "Really?" Leo asked. "You would have actually tried to fight Shredder?"

"I didn't know him, but I could tell right away he was evil." Zuko responded. "But when he told me what he would do… I saw the darkness in his eyes… and I believed him. Truth be told, that guy scares me."

"Toph?" Leo asked.

"Yep, it's the truth." Toph confirmed.

"Well I can believe that." April said. "The Shredder is the kind of guy who will keep you up at night."

Katara was still quite angry. "What about you, huh?!" She spoke to Karai. "I fought you in Ba-Sing-Se! We're you being blackmailed to?!"

Karai looked down in shame. "No. I knew full well what I was doing."

"Of course you did." Raph told her. "Cause you're Shredder's little puppet!"

"Yeah you're his daughter!" Sokka stated. "The Turtles told us about you!"

"You can say you've tried to help them before, but you've always put that of a father of yours first!" Katara angrily said. "You're just like him!"

Karai looked to Karai with a serious expression. "Your name is Katara, correct? Let me ask you, could you so easily turn your back on _your_ father? Even if you knew the things he did we're wrong?"

Katara tried to come up with a reply, but when she couldn't she simply crossed her arms and looked away.

Despite all this, Aang still had something he had to know. "I don't know about you guys but there's something I have to know. How did Shredder take over the Fire Nation!? The Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes have all tried to fight them for a hundred years, they've even whipped out my people! How could the Shredder have overthrown them in one day?! It should be impossible!"

Karai began to explain. "You recall Ba-Sing-Se, correct?" Aang nodded. "The primary reason why Shredder choose to aid Azula back then was an effort to gain favor within the Fire Nation. After the Earth Kingdom's fall the Foot came to the Fire Nation capital where they we're welcomed as heroes. The Shredder offered Ozai an alliance, seeing as how technologically advanced the Foot was, Ozai accepted. But in doing so, he let the snake in his garden."

"A wolf in sheep's clothing." Don seemed to understand.

"What?" Toph questioned, not really understanding it.

"It's an expression." Don replied to her.

"The Fire Nation, the Fire Lord, believed the Avatar was dead." Zuko began to explain as well. "But they knew about the invasion, and since it was during an eclipse, it was still a threat. So my father focused all his attention, military, and resources to prepare for it, but in doing so…"

"He became completely blind to everything that was going on the _inside_." Leo realized.

"Exactly." Zuko told the blue-clad Turtle. "But while the Fire Nation thought the Avatar was dead, the Foot knew you we're alive." Zuko told Aang. "The Shredder somehow figured out you survived."

"Yeah, we sort of figured that out." Mikey said. "We ran into Hun back in the Invasion and he said the same thing."

"The Shredder had to make sure that things went according to his plan, and that involved all of you being at a specific place in a specific time, so he sent a few agents to make sure that you proceeded according to his schedule." Karai told them.

"Agents?" Sokka questioned till an expression of realization and anger crossed his face. "Wait, wait, you guys sent the Dark Turtles after us?!"

"Dark Turtles?" Zuko questioned.

"You're speaking of the clones." Karai said. "My father sent them, but Zuko knew nothing about it."

"Those guys tried to kill us!" Raph exclaimed.

"Do you know exactly what they did or what they are!?" Katara angrily questioned. "Do you know what's it like to fight someone who looked exactly like someone you cared about, and have them threaten you with those same voices?!"

"If you would allow me, I'd like to finish answering the Avatar's question." Karai told them.

Aang was angry at that revelation as well but he still needed to know. "Go on."

"Thank you." Karai continued. "When the day of the invasion finally came; all the Fire Nation's national military was focused on that battle. The eclipse as you know blocks all Firebending, when it began, that is when the Foot struck. They to had prepared for that day. With the Firebenders no longer able to fight, they became defenseless. The Foot Elite butchered Ozai's entire war council: the War Ministers, the High Generals, the High Admirals, all of them. They left no survivors."

"Shredder himself killed the Fire Lord." Zuko finished. "I know because we we're there. I went to face my father and told him I was leaving to join you, the last thing he realized was Shredder stabbing him in the back, and crushing his throat underneath his foot. Ending him."

Aang, Sokka, Katara, even Toph looked in a mix of both surprise and disgust at Shredder's brutality while the Turtles and April looked shocked, but not surprised.

"After that, all Shredder had to do was get rid of any possible witnesses still loyal to Ozai. And I'm sure you've all seen just how he was able to accomplish that." Zuko told them.

"With that giant flying ship." April said.

"The Foot-Carrier, yes." Karai continued. "And that is only the first; with the advanced alien technology the Foot has acquired they are now developing war machines that are far more advanced than anything the Fire Nation can hope to develop on their own."

"So if Shredder killed the Fire Lord, wouldn't that mean he was declaring war on them?" Aang asked.

"Yeah, why would they let Shredder lead when he killed their real leader?" Mikey asked as well.

"That is not how they will see it." Zuko responded, confusing the group. "The Foot killed everyone loyal to Ozai in the capital so they wouldn't spread the word. But now they're spreading a word of their own, throughout the rest of the Fire Nation. The story that they're being told is that the Invasion actually succeeded, and the Avatar and the Turtles we're the ones who killed the Fire Lord."

That caught the entire group by surprise; most of them could only look in disbelief.

"What?!" Aang, Katara, Mikey, Leo, Don, April, and Sokka exclaimed at the same time.

"Are you kidding me?!" Toph questioned.

"Is this some kind of joke?!" Raph exclaimed as well.

"The story is being spread that the forces of the Avatar and the Mutant Turtles have slain the Fire Lord, but the Shredder and the Foot have managed to push them back." Karai explained. "This allows Shredder to assume command of the entire nation. And he has built his own fortress in Ba-Sing-Se, in which he can use both the Fire Nation and his own forces to enforce his rule of the Earth Kingdom."

"Which in turn, will give him full control over both countries." Leo finished.

"Yeah." Zuko replied. "Shredder has also managed to convince my sister Azula of the same story. She now follows him, and the Fire Nation military now takes orders directly from her. This gives them some sort of security that at least one of their leaders survived."

This came as absolute shock to every human and Turtle present. Most could not believe what they just heard, especially those in Team Avatar. But the Turtles, while initially shocked we're only reminded that this is exactly what Shredder would have done.

"Yep." Mikey began. "Looks like we're screwed."

"Mikey!" Everyone else all exclaimed to him at the same time.

"What?! It's not like we got something that can help us come back from this!"

"Now you do." Karai told him, getting the group's attention. She put on a protective gauntlet as she reached for the cloth-covered sword strapped to her back. She grabbed it and pulled it out. The cloth fell and revealed the sword to the group.

Team Avatar just looked confused a bit; but the Turltes, as well as April could only look in complete and absolute shock.

"No." Leo breathed in horror. "The.. The.. The Sword of Tengu!?"

Karai drove the blade in the ground so that it stuck out with the handle at the top.

"The Sword of what?!" Katara questioned.

"Uh we already got a fancy sword." Sokka said. "Don't we Mr. Space Sword." Sokka practically cuddled with his own black space sword.

"That ain't just a fancy sword Sokka." Raph told him.

"That sword is Shredder's most powerful weapon!" Don exclaimed, getting Team Avatar's attention.

"Saywha?" Toph asked.

"Yeah, I remember what Shredder said about it." Mikey then began to imitate Shredder's voice as best as he could. "'The Sword of Tengu! The sword with which I used to lay villages to waste! Brought castle's to ground! Vanquished Armies! The sword that I used to conquer Japan and give power to the Tokugawa clan!' He said those exact words!"

To say Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph we're surprised would be an understatement.

"You… you… you're serious." Sokka couldn't believe it. "Shredder conquered an entire country with just that sword!?"

"Yes." Leo confirmed. "And he almost whipped us out with it."

"But… but this doesn't make sense!" April stuttered. "Didn't you guys say you destroyed that sword?!"

"Yeah we did!" Raph replied. His anger returned. "This has gotta be fake, no way it's the real deal!"

"I assure you it is." Karai told him. "Yes, you did destroy the original weapon, but the Shredder gathered the fragments of the weapon and commissioned for it to be rebuilt. This is the newly restored Sword of Tengu. And I promise it is every bit as powerful as the original, perhaps even more so."

The Turtles and April had a bit of trouble taking this in. "Shredder rebuilt the sword, but… you stole it from him?" Leo questioned.

"We did." Zuko confirmed. "And he was not happy about it."

"Donatello." Karai got the purple-clad Turtle's attention. "You are likely assuming there is some form of tracking device built into it. But I promise there is not, feel free to give it a thorough inspection. But you will need this glove of course." Karai tossed him the metal glove, which he caught.

"Are you serious about this sword being Shredder's ultimate weapon?" Aang asked.

"With the Sword of Tengu in his hands, he could perhaps overpower even you, Avatar." Karai told him, much to his surprise. "And that is why we have brought it here, so that you may find a use for it."

"Me?" Aang questioned. "Why me?"

"Because no one else can possibly handle such a powerful weapon other than someone of your caliber." Karai answered. "There is no one I have ever met that surpasses you in terms of raw power."

Team Avatar was greatly taken aback by this; no one has ever paid Aang a complement like this before. The Turtles and April we're also quite shocked, as Karai has never given a complement like this to anyone, not even the Shredder.

Zuko spoke up. "I know that both of us have made our fair share of mistakes in the past but we want to help. I know what my country has done, and I want to save it. I want to save the _real_ Fire Nation; bring back honor to a country that Sozin, Azulon, and my father have all poisoned with their war mongering and greed."

"And this will become even worse with the Foot now in power." Karai added. "We do not expect any of you to forgive us this quickly, the only thing we ask is that you give us a chance to atone for our sins."

Aang, Leo, Katara, Mikey, Raph, Sokka, Toph, Don, and April all looked to each other a bit, some of them had very questionable looks on their faces.

"I can tell this may take some time so we'll leave you for now." Karai said as she and Zuko began to walk away. "There is a campsite on the surface, roughly two miles west from this point. That's where we'll be, should you have need for us."

Karai and Zuko then both proceed to walk away, leaving the whole group of young heroes to ponder about what to do with this new information.

* * *

 _Zuko and Karai's campsite_

"Well, that could have been worse." Zuko said as the two sat down. "At least we didn't start a fight."

"Yes that is fortunate." Karai agreed. The bullfrog hopped down next to them and crocked, almost in agreement. "Well, at the very least, they now have the Sword of Tengu. I'm certain the Turtles will do their best to keep it out of the Shredder's hands, which is all we can really hope for."

"You think they'll let us join them though?" Zuko asked.

For the first time, Karai had a look of uncertainty. "I don't know. I truly don't know." As she said that, the bullfrog leaped into her lap and crocked again.

* * *

 _Western Air Temple_

"Okay… I did not see any of that coming." Mikey said as the group was talking about what just went down.

"Can you guys actually believe any of that?!" Katara questioned. "Why would they try to fool us like that?"

Leo could not believe what Katara just said. "You can't be serious Katara, are you doubting them?"

"Of course I am!" She sharply replied.

"Well its obviously some kind of trap!" Sokka added as well.

"It's just like when Zuko and I we're imprisoned in Ba-Sing-Se. He starts targeting about his mother and that he's an actual human being with feelings." Katara said.

"Have you ever considered that he actually is?" Leo contradicted. "When I fought Zuko back in Ba-Sing-Se, I could tell he was struggling against himself. He knew what he was doing was wrong."

"So why the shell would he be doing it if he even knew it was wrong?!" Raph angrily questioned.

"Uh… maybe because he was blackmailed by Shredder?" Mikey chimed in.

"Yep, he was telling the truth then." Toph added. "And about him setting Appa free, and wanting to fight Shredder."

"It definitely sounds like something Shredder would do." April said.

"Blackmailed or not, it still doesn't change the fact that he actually fought with Shredder!" Sokka pointed out. "Or what about Karai? She's Shredder's flesh and blood for crying out loud!"

"Actually no." Don pointed out. "Karai's adopted. There's no biological connection between her and Shredder."

"But she was still _raised_ by Shredder, wasn't she?!" Katara angrily questioned.

"I kind of have a confession to make." Aang said, getting everyone's attention. "Katara, Sokka, remember when you two we're sick and I got captured by Zhao?"

"You mean that idiot with the sideburns you told us about?" Raph asked.

Mikey actually began to laugh. "Yeah! You made Sokka and Katara both suck on frozen frogs!" He continued to laugh. "I wish I could have been there!"

"It's not funny!" Sokka exclaimed. "I had a wart on the flap that hangs down from the back of my throat for a month!" He showed the flap for emphasis, causing most of the group to look curiously.

"It's called a uvula, Sokka." Don told him.

This seemed to confuse Sokka. "Hey, do I look like a girl to any of you?!"

That statement confused the entire group. "What?" April questioned in confusion. "No, the flap in your throat is _called_ a uvula. Everyone's got one."

"Besides Sokka, I looked at it and told you there was nothing there." Katara told him.

"I could feel it! It's my uvula-flab-thingy!" Sokka exclaimed, only to be smacked upside the head by Raph.

"Anyway…" Aang got back to the story. "When Zhao had me chained up, it was Zuko who came in and got me out. He risked his life to save me."

"Really? He actually saved you back then?" Leo asked.

"No way!" Katara didn't buy it for a second. "I'm sure he only did it so he could capture you himself!"

Sokka was in agreement. "Yeah face it Aang, you're nothing but a big prize to him."

"Maybe Zuko was like that then, but I can tell he's not like that now." Leo said. "Like I said, he was struggling when I fought him in Ba-Sing-Se, and I don't really blame him. Given how confused and hurt he was, as you said Katara, it wouldn't have been too much effort for Shredder to force his hand like that."

"Oh come on!" Katara exclaimed. "Leo you can't seriously be defending him!"

"Yes, I am." Leo insisted. "Both he and Karai have good in them, I can tell. Yes, Karai was raised by the Shredder, taught ninjitsu by the Shredder, and served the Shredder most of her life. But she's not like the Shredder, she helped us from time-to-time."

"You got a point their Leo." Mikey agreed. "Karai did help us get into Beijing. The Triceratons had that city lifting eight miles in the sky and Shredder just wanted to see it fall. She helped us to get in there and stop that, saving millions of lives."

"I don't buy that for a second." Katara said. "If she was good, why did she go back to Shredder? Huh?!"

"Because she's his little girl, that's why." Raph agreed. "That's all she'll be. Shredder's little daughter, adoptive or not."

"Okay, okay!" April stepped in. "You guys have pretty good reasons not to trust either Karai or Zuko. But I think there might be actually more reasons _to_ trust them."

"What are you getting at April?" Leo asked.

"Well, they did bring us the Sword of Tengu." April began. "We had no idea that thing was rebuilt. And from what I can tell, those two seemed really honesty, that they are very serious about joining us. Maybe we should have them sign up."

"Yeah I think Red-head here is right." Toph agreed. "Aang needs a Firebending teacher, and given how the Foot are going to tell the whole world that we killed the Fire Lord I doubt we're gonna have any volunteers. Plus that Karai-chick was Shredder's daughter, so she's gotta know a lot of his secrets. That is something we can really use right now! Plus, given how each of their respective families are messed up and how they we're raised, they could have ended up a lot worse."

Don began to think. "Well, in addition to Zuko teaching Aang Firebending, he should also know a few secrets about the Fire Nation to, being the prince and all. Plus Karai's swordsmanship-skills do rival that of Leo's. And Toph's nature-vs.-nurture debate does raise some interesting possibilities."

"Yeah." Mikey agreed as well. "With those two actually working _for_ us, plus the Sword of Tengu, _and_ Aang finally mastering Firebending; we'd take down Shredder in no time!"

Raph, Katara, and Sokka could not believe what most of the group was suggesting. The three looked around in disbelief and a bit of anger.

"Okay, when did this bus take a left into crazy town!?" Raph questioned. "Toph, Leo, you guys can't seriously be buying this!"

"All I'm saying that when they we're talking to us, they we're sincere, both of them." Toph said.

"I don't want to sound too pushy, but maybe you guys are letting your hurt feelings get in the way." April said as well.

"Easy for you to say! You guys weren't there when Zuko attacked us with pirates!" Katara angrily stated.

"Or when he burnt Kyoshi Island!" Sokka added.

"Or when he tried to capture me at the Fire Temple!" Aang added as well.

"Well what about the time when the Foot, the Purple Dragons, and the Mob we're fighting during the time when everyone thought Shredder was dead?" April reminded.

"Hold on, what?" Aang asked.

"Long story short, Shredder was presumed deceased; so all the crime factions under New York we're fighting for control of the criminal underworld." Leo summed up.

"Yeah, during that time, innocent people we're getting caught in the crossfire." April continued. "But Karai stepped in to help us. To prevent the city from being destroyed."

"Only to put Shredder back on top when he was feeling better!" Raph argued.

"Do she and Zuko really think they can just buy their way in with some fancy sword?" Sokka questioned as he looked to the Sword of Tengu, still sticking out from where Karai left it. "I bet it isn't even that good." He began to walk to it. "It's probably just a piece of junk."

The Turtles looked in alarm as Sokka tried to grab it. "Sokka wait!" Don tried.

The moment Sokka grabbed the handle, a blue energy current surged through the sword and Sokka was sent flying to the other side of the courtyard. Everyone quickly rushed to help him up.

"Sokka, are you okay?!" Katara asked urgently.

Sokka got up and his hair shot straight up. "What the shell was that?! Did they bobby-trap it or something?!"

"No, that's how the sword works." Don told him. "The Sword of Tengu is so powerful that if you want to use it, you'll need this protective glove." Don showed the glove for emphasis.

"So it'll shock anyone who tries to touch it?" Toph asked.

"Almost anyone." Leo said. "The only one who ever used it without any form of protection was Master Splinter. He said that only a true master, one who is truly worthy, could use the sword without any protection, but there's still a price to pay."

"Which comes in the form of burnt hands, like what Master Splinter got." Mikey recalled.

"And those two expect Aang to use something like that?!" Katara angrily questioned. "No way!"

"Hey it's better than Shredder getting his hands on it. Cause when he does it ain't pretty." Mikey argued.

With that Aang, Sokka, April, Raph, Mikey, Toph, Don, and Katara all began to speak and argue at the same time; some being in favor, some being against, and it was getting rather loud and vocal. Leo had finally had enough.

"Alright, that's enough!" Leo exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. "Look! Okay yes, we all have valid reasons not to trust either Karai or Zuko; but lets look at the benefits if they joined us. Aang learns Firebending, we learn secrets of both the Foot _and_ the Fire Nation, we get the Sword of Tengu, and we have more allies. If you ask me, the benefits outweigh the risk."

"I don't care, I'm not having Zuko as my teacher!" Aang stated firmly.

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, how about we put it to a vote. Those in favor of letting Zuko and Karai join us?"

"Aye!" Don, April, Toph, and Mikey all said as they raised their hands, with Leo raising his as well. This resulted in some minor scowls from the rest of the group.

"Those oppose?" Leo asked.

"Nay!" Aang, Raph, Katara, and Sokka raised their hands in rejection.

"It's five to four. Majority rules." Leo said. "I say we let them in."

"But I'm the Avatar! Shouldn't I get to decide who teaches me Firebending?!" Aang argued.

"Aang, I think Zuko is going to be our only option." Leo told him. "When in war, we all have to do things we don't like."

"Leo, reality check!" Raph argued. "Zuko is Ozai's own flesh and blood, and Karai was raised by Shredder! Those two can make up as much excuses as they want! I ain't buying it!"

"We are not letting Zuko or Karai in this group! I don't care what anyone says, or if Zuko was blackmailed by Shredder, he's still a horrible person!" Katara exclaimed.

Leo couldn't help but sigh. "We're arguing in circles. How about we drop this for right now, and get back to it later? Alright?!"

No one in the group said anything. Leo looked to see concerned looks on Toph, Mikey, Don, and April's faces; while Raph, Aang, Sokka, and Katara had scowls. They came to a silent agreement as they all began to walk off in separate directions.

* * *

 _Later that night; Zuko and Karai's camp_

The only light that was shown was a small campfire as Zuko and Karai both slept under a makeshift tent. Karai heard a small rustle and woke up. She pulled a blade and pointed it outward, which also woke up Zuko.

"Who is there!? Show yourself!" Karai demanded. Zuko took a Firebending stance as well preparing for the worst.

"Hold your fire!" Leo's voice was heard as a white flag was shot out of a bush. Karai and Zuko both eased as Leo, and Toph both walked out.

"Geeze, you guys always greet your guests like this?" Toph joked as she and Leo walked to the campsite.

Zuko and Karai could both tell she was joking, but didn't laugh. Leo and Toph both sat down near the campfire.

"So, did you guys make a decision?" Zuko asked, in a somewhat hopeful tone as he and Karai sat up.

Leo gave a slight nervous laugh. "Not exactly. A few of us are open to the idea of you joining."

"But everyone else is pretty much a crybaby." Toph added. "I'm starting to wonder who's really the blind one around here."

Karai was slightly surprised. "You're blind?"

Toph gave a proud smile. "You know it lady!"

Zuko looked towards Leo. "So… why are you guys here?"

Leo began to speak. "Master Splinter tells a story." Karai and Zuko both began to listen. "Once, a scorpion needed to cross a stream. He asked a frog to take him across on his back. The frog said 'how do I know you won't sting me?' The scorpion promised he would never do such a thing, so the frog agreed to carry him across the stream."

Zuko and Karai continued to listen intently to Leo's story; even Toph was listening at this point.

"Half-way across, the frog felt a burning pain in his back. The scorpion had stung him." This caught both Karai and Zuko slightly by surprise, but Zuko slowly began to look down in partial shame. "As he succumbed to the poison, and he and the scorpion began to sink, the frog cried out 'why did you do that? Now we will both perish!' The scorpion said, I did it because it's my nature."

Leo had finished the story. Toph was the first to speak. "Man, what a bummer story."

The blue-clad Turtle looked to the two whom he believed we're seeking redemption. "There's a few people in the group who are a bit skeptical about you two joining."

"Well I can't say I blame them." Zuko said.

"But what do you think?" Karai asked Leo.

"I believe that when you give most people the opportunity to be the best they can be, they take it." Leo answered with a smile. This caused smiles between the Firebender and Kunoichi.

"I don't exactly know you two, but I can tell you guys are alright." Toph added as well.

Leo began to stand up with Toph. "Tomorrow morning, we're going to come to a final decision." Leo began. "And I want you two there to." This was a bit of a surprise to them both. "I want them all to look you in the eyes, to see who you really are inside when we make a choice."

"Why would you want us there?" Zuko asked.

"To find out whether you two are scorpions, or turtles." Leo responded before he and Toph began to walk away.

This left a silent pair of repentant souls who looked towards each other questionably on what to do.

* * *

 _The Next Morning, The Western Air Temple_

Most of the rebel group was in the courtyard. Katara and April we're preparing breakfast for everyone. The people present besides them we're Aang, Raph, Mikey, Sokka, Don, Haru, Teo, and the Duke. As breakfast bowls we're passed between everyone, Katara noticed something.

"Hey guys, where's Leo? And where's Toph?"

April shrugged. "Well Leo's probably out for another early morning training."

"As for Toph, probably just out smashing something." Raph guessed.

"Well there _are_ some pretty fun spots to practice Earthbending." Haru added.

Don looked a bit nervous. "Think maybe we should go look for them?"

"Nah." Mikey dismissed. "This is Leo and Toph we're talking about, those two can take care of anything that comes their way."

"Yeah let them have their fun with rocks and swords." Sokka agreed. "I'm in no rush to get yelled at. Mostly by Toph."

"We can go check for them." The Duke proposed, referring to himself, Haru, and Teo.

"Yeah." Teo agreed as he rolled up. "I want to ride that tunnel down the hall of statues again. It'll work a lot better now that I fixed my breaks."

"Alright, but don't wonder off to far." April told them as they began to search for their companions.

A large rumble was heard, causing the ground to shake, and a bit of the group as well. A rocky explosion was seen on the wall as Toph and Leo began to walk out.

"You know, we could have just walked down here." Leo told her as they walked into the courtyard.

Toph smirked. "We could have, but where's the fun in that?"

The rest of the group came up to meet them at the wall. "So where we're you guys?" Mikey asked.

"We went to see Zuko and Karai." Leo answered. This surprised the entire group.

"You did what?!" Aang questioned.

"So what happened? Did they attack you?" Katara asked.

"Did you guys manage to beat them up!" Sokka questioned.

"No, and no." Leo answered. "We actually told them to come down here later today." Again the group was caught by surprise, a few of them we're a bit angry as well

"Wait… what?!" Raph angrily questioned. "Leo you've made a lot of mistakes bro, but this takes the cake!"

"How can you guys seriously just invite them down here?!" Katara questioned as well.

"Because we're coming to a final decision today." Leo told them. "And I want you guys to see them when you do. Its going to be something we make as a group. But before you guys go on about how dangerous it might be, try to think of the benefits that might come from this."

"That is if some of you idiots can see past your own anger." Toph stated.

This did result in some scowls from Katara, Raph, Sokka, and even Aang a bit.

"You guys really think they're here to help?" April asked to Leo and Toph.

"Yes April, I really do." Leo confirmed.

As they talked with each other, none of them noticed that they we're being observed through a pair of high-tech binoculars. The person observing them was in fact the leader of the Dark Turtles.

"Ugh." Dark Leo groaned. "I can't believe we got beat by these losers." He accessed his comns. "Do it now!"

As Team Avatar, the Turtles, and April tried to eat some of their breakfast, Toph heard something with her acute hearing. Something coming there way.

"LOOK OUT!" She yelled as she shot her arm up and created a large rock-wall to block a rocket coming their way. It exploded, the shockwave knocked all nine of htem back.

A few more rockets we're shot out around the group and into the courtyard, causing some minor tremors throughout the area.

"What the shell is going on?!" Sokka questioned.

"Heads up guys. We got company!" Toph stated as she felt some very familiar footsteps with her seismic sense.

Leo, April, Aang, Katara, Raph, Mikey, Toph, Don, and Sokka all looked to see the all four Dark Turtles land in the area in front of them facing the cliff; in addition to their usual weapons, each of them had a different type of gun with them as well.

"Knock, Knock!" Dark Mikey sang. "Wanna play!?" He chuckled.

"Oh no, not these guys again!" Aang grimaced as everyone stood back up..

"I'm guessing these are those Dark Turtle clones." April assumed.

"Yep, that's them alright." Don confirmed as everyone drew their weapons and took bending stances.

"A daylight assault?" Leo questioned to the clones. "Come on guys, even you can't be that dumb."

"We got a message for you from the Shredder!" Dark Raph stated. "Rest in pieces!" The Dark Turtles charged forward as the heroes charged at them in response.

Dark Mikey jumped and lashed his clubs at Don and Toph, forcing them to scatter. Don twirled his staff to block an attack from Dark Mikey; but the Dark Turtle got hit in the back of his shell by a bolder from Toph. Dark Mikey rolled before pulling out an energy gun and shot energy pistols at Toph, who erected an earth-barrier to protect herself. As Dark Mikey shot with his right hand, he used his left hand to carry a club to block Don's attack with his staff.

Dark Leo unsheathed both his swords and sliced towards Aang, who avoided each one of his slices with his Airbending. Mikey tried to come in from the left while flailing his nunchucks; but Dark Leo jumped back to avoid them. He was barley able to limbo underneath a few ice-shards from Katara as she bent water from the fountain behind her. He took out the same energy gun he used before and shot at her. She tried to protect herself with a water shield, but it exploded and sent her flying. Dark Leo was blown back by an air-gust from Aang, and the young Avatar twirled his staff to send an airwave that sent Mikey flying towards Dark Leo.

Dark Don had what appeared to be bazooka in his hands as he shot rockets out towards Raph and Sokka. Raph rolled and dodged the explosions that caused the temple to rumble before he threw his shurikens out at Dark Don, which he blocked with his right wrist guard. Dark Don was able to swerve his head to the side to avoid an incoming boomerang from Sokka, who yelled as he swung his sword, but Dark Don blocked it with his rocket launcher, before the boomerang came back and smacked Dark Don in the head. As he wobbled, Raph jumped up and took out the Axe a friend of his gave him and swung it at Dark Don, forcing him on defense as Sokka and Raph both went on the offensive.

Leo jumped over to avoid a talon-strike from Dark Raph. As he landed behind, Leo blocked above his head with both his blades to catch Dark Raph's talon. As they struggled, Leo gave a sweeping kick to knock Dark Raph off his feet. He groaned but saw April nearby. Dark Raph chuckled evilly as he got up to walk towards her.

"April! Look out!" Leo tried but Dark Raph took out a grenade and threw it at Leo, the explosion knocked him back.

Dark Raph ran towards April, but she took out her katana to block a strike from his talon. She tried to deliver a palm thrust, but he caught her hand and threw her towards a wall.

Dark Leo was blasted back by an air and water blast from both Aang and Katara. He rolled close to the edge of the courtyard, and closer to the chasm below. He groaned as he got up. "Alright! That's it! I've had enough of you brats!" Dark Leo took out his energy gun and opened fire; forcing Aang, Mikey, and Katara to roll and jump out of the way to avoid being shot at by the clone. Dark Don and Dark Mikey followed suit as well as they jumped close to Dark Leo and shot their respective weapons. This forced everyone else to jump and try to find cover as all three clones laughed evilly.

"Happy shooting day to me!" Dark Mikey exclaimed with an evil chuckle.

April tried to get up as Dark Raph grabbed both her hands with one of his own larger hands and pinned her to the wall.

"Those cheap copy Turtles and bending brats like you, don't they?" Dark Raph mused with an evil grin. "Well loosing you should take the fight out of them!" Dark Raph reeled back a talon-knuckle.

"Do you're worst you rip off!" April exclaimed to him angrily.

"You got it!" Dark Raph was about to punch at her, but a fireball hit him dead on in the chest, forcing him to drop April and stumble back. "Ugh! What the!?"

He looked up to see Zuko running on a ledge above him, shooting out two more fire-fists at Dark Raph before jumping and landing a flaming-roundhouse across Dark Raph's face. Zuko looked back to the surprised April with concern.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked.

April was surprised but managed to get her bearings. "Yeah, thanks."

Zuko smiled before turning back to Dark Raph and thrusting both his palms forward to send a massive fire-stream at the stunned Dark Raph. The fire hit the grenades attached to his belt, forcing them to explode and send him flying off the edge.

The loud explosion caught the attention of the remaining Dark Turtles.

"What was that?!" Dark Don questioned.

Before anyone else could say anything, they heard a familiar female yell as they looked up to see Karai falling towards them and land both her feet on Dark Mikey and Dark Don's faces. They stumbled back into Dark Leo and all three fell off the edge; where they landed on a large flat area twenty feet below with Dark Raph.

Everyone looked in complete surprise to see both Zuko and Karai run towards the edge as the two jumped down to face the recovering Dark Turtles.

The clones got up to see their new enemies. "Well, well; if it isn't the little traitors." Dark Don mused.

"Well I don't believe we've met, but I already don't like any of you." Zuko spat as he took a Firebending stance.

"I have turned my back on the Shredder. If you choose to harm the Avatar, Turtles, or any of their allies, you will answer to us!" Karai told them, catching the attention of a recovering Aang in the area above them.

Dark Mikey chuckled. "You know, dear old daddy did offer us a huge reward if we'd bring back both your heads. And that is just what we'll do." He laughed again.

Dark Leo also smirked evilly. "Kill them!" He ordered his brothers.

Karai took out a katana in her left hand and a chain in her right, which she spun around. She sent the chain towards Dark Leo, entangling his foot, but he quickly sliced away the chain before it went tout. He tried to slash at Karai, but she blocked it with her sword. But this gave an opening for Dark Leo to kick her in the side, sending her rolling close to the edge.

Dark Mikey jumped up to try and smash her with his clubs, but Karai jumped above Dark Mikey as he landed to avoid getting hit. As she landed behind him, she swung the back of her sword to knock him off his feet. Dark Leo tried to shoot at her with his gun, but she jumped to get away from the blasts.

Zuko slid back to avoid a few claw slashes from Dark Don. Once he got a bit of distance, he formed two flaming whips in his arms and snapped them at Dark Don, knocking him back. Zuko sent both flaming whips forward at Dark Raph, who blocked it with his own shell before driving his shoulder forward and hit Zuko in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him close to the edge.

"Ow." Zuko said as he held his chest with Dark Raph and Dark Don approached him. "So, you four have all this power, and all you do with it is kill for fun."

Dark Raph picked Zuko up by the head. "From what I hear, we got that in common."

"You heard wrong." Zuko said as he shot out a fire-stream from his mouth into Dark Raph's face, forcing him to drop Zuko. Dark Don tried to aim his bazooka at him, but Zuko shot a fire-ball with a flaming kick; which accidentally forced Dark Don to aim the bazooka upward and fire.

The rocket flew straight up as it hit the ceiling of the entire temple, causing a brief rumble and some rubble to fall down onto the courtyard. Toph and Aang created a rock-dome to protect themselves as well as Leo, April, Raph, Mikey, Katara, Sokka, and Don. The tremor also caused the Sword of Tengu to come loose and move towards the edge of the courtyard.

Karai found herself on the defensive ends of the relentless slashes from Dark Leo as she used only one sword to block them. As she struggled against that, Dark Mikey came in and laughed as he smashed her in the side with his club, sending her towards Zuko who was above the recovering Dark Raph and Dark Don.

They both rolled close to the edge as more rumbling continue and some rocks fell around them. Karai looked close to the edge and saw the seemingly bottomless chasm below, making a quick mental note not to fall down there.

The two got up to see all four Dark Turtles approach them with sinister intentions. They made combat stances.

"Zuko, I don't think we can beat them alone." Karai told him.

Zuko looked in the corner of his eye and saw the dangling Sword of Tengu that was about to fall. "Karai, I got an idea."

Before she could respond, he shot two flame-pillars from his hands below him to propel him in the air.

At the same time; Leo, Aang, Mikey, April, Katara, Sokka, Raph, Toph, and Don recovered and got a good view of what was happening down below. They looked to what Zuko was doing.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Zuko flew towards the Sword as it fell off the edge, he reached his hand out toward it. As he did, Dark Don shot another rocket at him. Zuko's hand inched closer. He managed to grab the handle of it, just before the rocket could make contact; resulting in an explosion.

The heroes could only look in surprise, where as Karai had a look of horror on her face. "ZUKO!"

Dark Don chuckled triumphantly, with the rest of the Dark Turtles. "Well, guess the Fire Prince has been _fired._ " Dark Mikey joked as he laughed, but their laugh was stopped when a blue energy wave was shot at them, forcing them to duck.

The dust settled and it was revealed Zuko was kneeling on the ground. He slowly stood up as he held the Sword of Tengu in his hands, with blue energy surging around the blade like blue energized fire almost.

While Aang, Sokka, Toph, and even Katara are surprised at this; Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey, April, and Karai could only look with wide-eyed and jaw-dropped expressions. Zuko was holding the Sword of Tengu without the glove. As he held it though, smoke was seen coming from his hands as it was burning him, but he ignored the pain.

"Zuko I…. the Sword but…" Karai stuttered.

"Karai." Zuko told her. "Get everyone away from here, I can feel its power and I don't know if I can hold it all in!"

"But you need the glove!" Karai tried.

"No time! Just do it!" Zuko exclaimed to her. She was still surprised but nodded anyway before jumping up to join the others.

"Everyone! Get back! NOW!" Karai yelled towards Team Avatar and the Turtles.

Zuko held the Sword of Tengu as he glared at the Dark Turtles, who could only look in shock, and in some cases fear as they saw the fire in Zuko's eyes.

"Uh oh." Dark Don said.

"We in trouble." Dark Mikey sang in fear.

"Every Dark Turtle for himself!" Dark Raph exclaimed as he tried to run away.

Zuko wouldn't have it. "Oh no, you are not warning Shredder!" Zuko exclaimed as he swung the Sword forward, sending a large energy wave forward; the Dark Turtles we're able to avoid it, but the wave surged forward anyway and impacted a large and empty building that hung down close to the courtyard.

As the wave hit it, it sliced through and sent the entire structure falling down from the ceiling and down into the chasm, causing a loud rumble. Now Team Avatar looked in shock, having now seen the power of the Sword of Tengu.

Dark Leo tried to get his brothers together. "No you morrons! Don't run away! Kill him!"

Zuko jumped with the sword and leaped in front of them. He lunged the sword forward, sending an energy stream towards the Dark Turtles forcing them to scatter. He tried to slash at Dark Leo, who tried to block it with his own swords, but the Sword of Tengu sliced through them like butter, it also created a small explosion to knock him back. Dark Raph tried to swing his talon-knuckles at him, but Zuko sliced the talons off just the same.

Zuko jumped again straight at Dark Don, who tried to block it with his bazooka, but the Sword of Tengu was able to slice through that as well, and slicing through a rocket launcher caused an explosion to sned Dark Don back. Dark Mikey tried to run away screaming but Zuko jumped to land in front of him.

Dark Mikey saw the look in Zuko's eyes and was struck with fear. He chuckled nervously. "Uh… can't we talk about this?"

"No." Zuko said simply as he swung the Sword and blasted Dark Mikey back. The Dark Turtles we're all gathered together close to the edge. Zuko pulled the Sword of Tengu up and with a yell he plunged it into the ground. The ground cracked all around the Dark Turtles as blue energy surged through it.

Dark Leo grimaced realizing what was coming next. "Aw shell."

The entire floor collapsed from underneath them and all four Dark Turtles screamed as they fell down into the dark chasm.

While everyone above could only look in shock at what just happened: Zuko had not only wielded the Sword of Tengu without the glove, but he used it to take down the Dark Turtles singlehandedly. Even Sokka's jaw fell from his face and to the ground in anime-fashion.

Using a Firebending boost from his feet, Zuko propelled himself up onto the courtyard with everyone else, with the active Sword of Tengu in his hands. Unfortunately for him, the adrenaline rush had worn off and he could now feel the pain from the sword burning his hands. He grunted in pain as he fell to his knees and dropped the sword.

The Sword of Tengu bounced on the ground a bit away from him as Zuko held out his smoking hands. Karai and April we're the first to rush to his aid as they came to his shoulder.

"Zuko! Are you alright?!" Karai asked urgently.

Zuko grunted. "I'll live."

April saw his hands and gasped while covering her mouth. The Turtles and Team Avatar saw his burnt hands and could only look in shock, especially Aang.

Don was the first to gain his bearings as he saw the burnt hands. "Zuko those… those are second-degree burns! If you held that sword any longer it would have burnt you to the bone!"

"Guess I should be lucky huh?" Zuko grimaced while trying to put in some humor.

"Dude… not even Master Splinter held the sword for that long." Mikey said.

"Hold on a second. I thought you guys said you need some special glove to use that sword." Sokka recalled.

"Not always." Karai began to explain. "The Sword of Tengu is a potent mix of science and sorcery, and only one who is truly worthy, a true master can wield it without any form of protection. But still… there is only so much raw power the human body can take. As you can see."

"Katara, he really needs your help right now!" Don told her.

Katara's look of shock vanished. She scowled again, but walked forward to Zuko anyway, taking her sweet time. She bent water out of her satchel and placed it on Zuko's hands and let the healing do the rest.

Zuko felt the pain fade slowly fade away. He looked to Katara gratefully. "Thank you."

Katara looked at him with her scowl still present. "I'm not doing this for you."

Zuko choose not to respond as he was still expecting this sort of treatment, and was used to it by now anyway.

Toph looked towards Leo. "Damn, you guys weren't kidding about that sword."

Leo put on the glove as he walked to it. "All the more reason to keep it with us. Just imagine what it would be like in Shredder's hands, who actually knows how to use it." Leo said as he sheathed the Sword of Tengu, keeping it safe.

Sokka and Mikey both comically gulped at the thought of it. Katara had finished healing, or what she would heal willingly, as she drew her water back. Karai and April helped him up a bit and helped him sit down on a nearby rock. Zuko looked to his hands and could see some minor burn marks, but nothing permanent. It would heal eventually.

Aang was the first to speak. "Wow. I can't believe I'm saying this but; Zuko, Karai, thanks."

"Yeah, thank you. You saved all our lives." Leo agreed.

Zuko and Karai both looked to each other and nodded. Zuko choose to speak first. "Listen, I get I probably didn't explain myself very well yesterday. I have been through a lot in the past few years, and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn truth. I thought I had lost my honor, and that somehow my father could return it to me." He looked to Karai with a grateful smile. "But a good friend of mine has helped me to realize that that no one can give you your honor, its something you earn for yourself by choosing to do what's right." Zuko turned back to the group. "All I want now is to play my part in stopping the Shredder. And I know now, that my destiny is to help all of you restore balance to this world."

Leo smiled towards Zuko. Now it was Karai's turn to speak.

"I can understand how you all may feel about me." She began. "Yes, I have served the Shredder most of my life; he was more than just my master, he was my father. But, by choosing that path I followed him without questioning, and it has blinded me to the truth. The only thing the Foot desires is power, and they will go do whatever it takes to obtain it, and that is something that I cannot be a part of. I know my place is with all of you. And so I do know what I should have done a long time ago."

Karai walked towards Aang, but what she did next no one expected. Karai got down on her knees and bowed to the Avatar as though a human would bow to a deity. The Turtles and most of Team Avatar looked in surprise, but none we're more surprised than Aang, who never received this treatment before.

"Master Avatar." Karai began. "I hereby pledge my sword, my services, and my life to you, and your friends. My only desire now is to serve you, in anyway you deem fit. I swear that I will do everything I can to help you, to protect you, even if it involves sacrificing my own life."

Aang had absolutely no idea what to say, no one ever treated him like this before. Did she think that he was some sort of god? Leo gave a faint chuckle as he walked towards Karai, he smiled as he offered up a hand, she took it and he helped her stand up.

"Karai, Zuko, I think you two aren't giving yourselves enough credit." Leo said. "Just now, you have both proven how much honor you truly have risking your own lives to save those you barley know, wielding a weapon that could completely overwhelm you, and pledging your life to a complete stranger. You two are some of the most honorable warriors I have ever met. And I myself am eager to know more about you to." He bowed. "But Zuko, for future reference, take it easy with the Sword of Tengu." He tried a bit of humor. "As you can see, it is very dangerous."

Zuko nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry if things felt like they we're getting out of control. It my first time using that sword, but's no excuse. That sword is much like Fire, dangerous and wild. As a Firebender, I need to be more careful, and control my bending, so I don't hurt people unintentionally."

Aang looked a bit in surprise, and then later in understanding. He looked towards Leo who gave a nod. "I think you _are_ supposed to be my Firebending teacher."

Katara, Raph, and Sokka we're both surprised by this; while Leo, Toph, Don, Mikey, and even April smiled.

Aang continued to speak. "When I first tried to learn Firebending, I burnt Katara. And after that, I never wanted to Firebend again." Aang looked to Leo. "But a good friend of mine also told me that Fire can be more than just destruction, it can be a light, one that I now realize is necessary to end the darkness." Leo smiled back at Aang as he turned back to Zuko. "I am glad that you know how easy it is to hurt the people you love." He turned to the kunoichi. "Karai, I would be honored to accept you into this group." Aang then bowed to Zuko. "And Zuko, I would like you to teach me."

Zuko and Karai smiled as they both bowed to the young Avatar. "Thank you." Zuko said. "I'm so happy you've accepted us into your group."

"Hold on guys." Leo told them. "I did say that it would be a group decision." Leo and Aang turned to their friends.

"Raphael?" Leo asked.

Raph sighed. "The only thing I want right now is to take down Shredder. I don't trust these guys, so I'll be keeping an eye on them. But if you think they can help us, then fine. Let em join up." He didn't like it, but he knew that they needed them.

Aang turned to his Earthbending teacher. "Toph?"

Toph smirked and crossed her arms. "You already know where I stand Twinkle Toes. Plus given that they did save our lives, I'd say let them in."

Leo then turned to another one of his brothers. "Donatello?"

"Aang needs a Firebending teacher, and Karai does have knowledge that can be useful to us, as I've said before. So yeah, I still say let them in."

Leo turned his youngest brother. "Michelangelo?"

"Bro, are you kidding me?" Mikey excitedly said. "I've seen Karai in action and I know we can definitely use that! Plus, did you see how Zuko wielded the freaking Sword of Tengu!? These two are legitimate badasses! As far as I'm concerned, they're _already_ on the team!"

Aang turned to the non-bender of Team Avatar. "Sokka?"

He shrugged. "Hey, all I wanted before was to take down the Fire Lord, but now it's take down Shredder. If you guys thing this is the best move, then I'm all for it."

Leo turned to the oldest woman from his group. "April?"

April smiled. "Zuko did save my life, so I kind of owe him now." She looked to the former prince. "Thanks for that by the way." He smiled back. "And I have seen Karai in action to, I say let them both in. I'd like to get to know them." She gave both a friendly smile.

Aang turned to his Waterbending teacher and the only one yet to make a decision. "Katara?"

She still had a scowl on her face. Leo could tell that she was dead-set against this; Zuko had a similar feeling as he nervously sweat. Karai for the first time, looked rather nervous herself.

Katara looked around and saw pretty much everyone else had agreed to this, so she felt like saying 'no' wouldn't matter at this point.

"I'll go along with whatever you guys think is right."

Leo could tell by the tone in her voice this will be a rough transition for her, and probably Raph to, but he'd get to that later.

"Well it's settled." He turned to the new members of their group. "Zuko, Karai, welcome to the team. We're honored to have you both aboard."

They both smiled as well. Karai bowed. "Thank you, thank you very much for this opportunity."

Zuko was a bit excited. "We won't let any of you down, we promise!"

Mikey laughed a bit. "We'll hold you to that." He said with a grin.

* * *

 _Inside the Temple_

April had led the Karai and Zuko, both carrying their respective supplies, to two rooms at the end of the hall. "Well, here you guys are. This is where we'll be staying for a while, or at least until we need to move again."

Karai bowed. "Thank you, Ms. O'Neil."

April smiled. "Just call me April. All my friends do." She turned back to Zuko. "I know I said this before, but thanks again for saving me." She offered him a handshake.

Zuko smiled back. "You're welcome." He shook her hand.

"Lunch is in a few hours. Make yourselves at home." April said as she walked away.

April soon passed by Aang. "Things are starting to look for us." She told the young Avatar as they began to walk away.

Karai set her things down in her room before walking into Zuko's room as he set his stuff down and sat down on his bed. He took out a picture of his uncle.

Karai sat down next to him. "I'm sure he'd be proud of you. Do not worry, we'll find him."

Zuko smiled back. "I know."

* * *

 _Flashback, three years ago_

The recently banished and scared Prince Zuko stood in the same spot as before, after making his declaration to search the world and find the Avatar.

"If I have to, I will spend every day of the rest of my life hunting the Avatar. I know it's my destiny to capture him!"

Iroh put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You know Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out, but if you keep an open mind and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."

* * *

 _End Flashback_

Zuko had a peaceful smile on his face, Karai could tell what he was probably thinking and was happy for him. They both heard a noise at the doorstep and looked to see a scowling Katara facing them.

"You two might have everyone else buying whatever 'transformation', but I know that you Zuko have struggled with doing the right thing in the past. And as for you Karai, you may not be blood, but you we're still raised by that monster."

She approached the two and looked at them with a darkness deep in her eyes. "So let me tell you two something right now: if either of you make one step backward, one slip up, or give me one reason why I think you might hurt Aang or any of my friends, even if its just one of you, and neither of you will have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure both your destinies end, right then and there, permanently."

Katara walked out, slamming the door behind her, leaving a stunned pair of repentant warriors. As she walked down the hall, she heard a familiar voice.

"Making death threats? That seems a little dark for you, doesn't it?" Leo questioned as he leaned against the wall.

"Don't start with me Leo." She spoke with a scowl.

"Katara, I'm going to say something to you and I want you to listen carefully." Leo told her. "I get how this must be feeling for you, and I understand that you don't trust them. But I know for a fact, that they are both here to help us. I get that you might have difficulty accepting this, _but_ I'm not going to let your anger or your paranoia get the best of you." He put a hand firmly on her shoulder. "You're like a sister to me Katara, and I don't want to have to say this to you, while you say you'll be watching them, I'll be watching _you._ I promise I won't hurt you, but If you let your anger get the best of you, you will eventually do something you'll regret, and I'll be there to stop you."

Leo, confident that he made his point clear, let go of Katara and began to walk away. Katara looked with a scowl in his direction before walking in a separate direction herself.

* * *

 _Foot-Base, Ba-Sing-Se; Mystic Shrine_

The five Foot Mystics had observed everything that had transpired from their mystic pool, even the transition between Leo and Katara that had taken place.

"Things have taken an unexpected turn my brothers." The Fire Mystic began. "The wretch Karai, and even Prince Zuko have joined with the Turtles and the Avatar, and even delivered to them the Sword of Tengu."

"It would seem the Shredder, though may have the advantage now, will be greatly challenged by this newfound opposition." The Metal Mystic stated.

"And perhaps, there is something of this situation we can use to our benefit as well." The Water Mystic said.

"Yes." The Wind Mystic agreed. "Though the Avatar may indeed be of use to us, there is another in this group who could have use to us as well."

"The young Waterbending female's soul is tainted by hatred." The Earth Mystic said. "And hatred, much like fear, can easily be manipulated."

"The Avatar may aid us unintentionally, but the darkness within the Waterbender may have the potential to tear this union asunder." The Fire Mystic said. "This 'Katara' will indeed be useful, _very_ useful."

 **Done.**

 **Wow, this chapter was a lot of work. Yes, you can tell that things are slightly different than in the cannon episode, for one its less awkward in the initial approach to join the team. I found this episode was pretty painful for Zuko, who was my favorite character in the show, and I disliked the treatment Team Avatar gave him.**

 **But not everyone has a grudge against him, or Karai in this. As you've seen; Leo, Mikey, Don, Toph, and even April are the most likely to give him a second chance and will be the most welcoming into the group. Aang and Sokka won't be far behind either.**

 **However, Raph and Katara will obviously be giving both of them a very hard time. Raph is, well Raph, so you all can understand that. Katara however…**

 **I'm going to be blunt, I hated how Katara acted during this part of the season. Most of the show I've liked her, she was a very nice character, but now she's become bitter and turns into a bit of a bully herself, even more so than Raph. The Foot Mystics have taken notice and are planning on using her, but for what?  
You'll just have to wait and see.**

 **It would seem like we've seen the last of the Dark Turtles (or have we? ;))**

 **Oh and yes, Zuko used the Sword of Tengu. I did it for two reasons. As Master Splinter said (TMNT 2003 episode 'Return to New York Part 2') only a true master can wield it without the protective glove, it really does show that Zuko is an honorable warrior. Plus I thought it would make him look badass :)**

 **Things are about to get very interesting as the story progresses. We'll be seeing bits and pieces of Shredder's plan and what he is doing with the Fire Nation now that he's in charge. Thank you all for your patience, I'll see you next time with the next chapter.**


	26. The Firebending Masters

**Hey everyone. Thank you for your patience with me, I'm sure you've been looking forward to this chapter, and the others that will soon follow. While I do thank everyone for their suggestions (in the reviews) of how to proceed with these chapters, I already have a plan in the works and I wish to follow it. And so, let us begin. Expect some changes from the cannon TV show.**

 **The Firebending Masters**

This is it, this was Aang's first day of official Firebending lessons with his newly appointed teacher, Zuko; who, along with Karai, recently joined the group. Leonardo was also present with Aang and Zuko, as he wanted to learn a bit of how Firebending works as well, but also to make sure Katara wouldn't get overly paranoid about leaving Aang alone with Zuko.

"I know you're nervous." Zuko began to speak to Aang. "But remember, Firebending in of itself is not something to fear."

Aang still appeared nervous. "Okay, not something to fear."

"But if you _don't_ respect it, it'll chew you up and spit you out like an angry Komodo-Rhino!" Zuko stated, earning a frightened yelp from Aang.

"Why don't we just get right to the lesson itself." Leo suggested.

"Okay." Zuko looked to Aang. "Now show me what you got, any amount of fire you can make."

Aang took a few nervous breaths before thrusting his left palm outward, but barley provided a puff of smoke as a result.

Zuko turned towards Leo. "No Firebending experience, I'm guessing."

"No, not so much." Leo confirmed.

Aang gave a nervous chuckle as both older warriors looked towards him. "Maybe I need a little more instruction, perhaps a demonstration?"

"Good idea, you two might want to take a couple steps back." Zuko told Aang and Leo as they stepped back.

Zuko took a breath before shooting a fire-fist, but surprisingly, he only shot out a few minor flames that quickly blew out. This earned a surprised look from Leo. "What the?"

"What was that?!" Zuko questioned himself. "That was the worst Firebending I've ever seen!"

Leo and Aang both looked curious. "I thought it was… nice." Aang tried.

"Smooth Aang, real smooth." Leo uttered sarcastically.

Zuko tried to shoot out more fire with his punches and kicks, only to get the same result of weak flames. Zuko could only growl in frustration. "Why is this happening?!"

"Could it be that your hands haven't fully healed?" Leo questioned. "I mean you only yesterday used the Sword of Tengu."

"My hands are fine." Zuko replied.

"Maybe it's the altitude?" Aang guessed.

Zuko looked somewhat nervous. "Yeah, could be."

* * *

Leo, Zuko, and Aang moved down to a lower part of the temple. Aang sat on a broken pillar while Leo leaned back against an upright one as they watched Zuko attempt to Firebend, only to still get the same result.

"Just breath and…" Zuko thrusted out a fist but only received minor flames still.

"That one kind of felt hot." Aang tried, only to earn a wince from Leo.

"Don't patronize me!" Zuko exclaimed. "You know what its supposed to look like!"

"Sorry Sifu Hotman." Aang apologized.

"And stop calling me that!" Zuko exclaimed again.

"Okay, that's enough. Lets not turn this into an episode." Leo suggested as he put a hand on Zuko's shoulder.

"Oh does the little Firebending baby need a timeout or a diaper change?" They turned to see Raph walking onto the scene, having seen the whole thing. "Damn scar face here can't even light a match even if we wanted."

"Shut up." Zuko grunted trying not to react, but Raph still persisted.

"I mean how old are you anyway?" Raph continued to mock. "You act like a little kid, maybe we shouldn't be pushing the widdle guy so hard." He continued to mock.

"Raph, what are you doing?!" Leo questioned.

"You probably think you're so tough don't you?" Raph mocked Zuko even further, continuing to aggravate him. "Just like that little Azula brat? But you ain't nothing! Just a pathetic, spoiled little prince."

"Come on Raph, that's uncalled for." Aang tried, but Raph still kept going.

"Oh what's the matter? Does little baby Prince Zuko miss his Mommy?"

That tore it. Zuko yelled as he grabbed Raph and angrily pinned him to a pillar, looking at him in the eyes. "You think you're so smart don't you?! You think you know me! You don't understand a damn thing about me!" Zuko let go of Raph. "But I guess it doesn't matter what I say, because I'm just a monster."

Zuko then began to walk away from the area; Leo and Aang looked at him with concern but turned back to Raph as he got up. The Red-clad turtle looked to Leo who glared and even Aang gave a questioning look.

"What?"

"That wasn't cool Raph." Leo told him.

"You're kidding, right?" Raph questioned.

"Raph, I get your not the nicest turtle, but you didn't have to say all that stuff." Aang said.

"Oh like you never thought of saying the same kind of stuff." Raph said to the young Avatar. "Wasn't this the same punk who chased you all over the planet?"

"Yes, but that still doesn't mean we have to treat him like you just did." Aang told Raph.

"He's right, we're supposed to be better than that Raph. Otherwise, how are we different from him?" Leo said as well.

Raph simply crossed his arms. "Whatever." He began to walk away.

* * *

Elsewhere, in another part of the Western Air Temple, a small water droplet fell from a stalagmite towards the ground, but the droplet was cut in half before it reached the ground. Karai stood in that one spot, not a single muscle moving as she held a sheathed sword close to her side. Another water droplet fell from the stalagmite but it too was quickly sliced by Karai before she sheathed the sword back, all in less than a second. This process repeated at least two more times.

Mikey, Toph, Sokka, and Don were witnessing this. While the two Turtles we're impressed, they weren't surprised because they knew how good Karai was. However, Toph and Sokka we're both quite surprised to say the least as Sokka's mouth hung open while Toph's eyes we're simply wide.

"Damn. She's good." Toph commented.

"Not surprising, she _was_ trained by Shredder." Don said.

Sokka tried to put up a tough look. "Pttf, I bet she isn't all that great. I'm sure I can take her."

"I don't know Sokka." Mikey told him. "When we first met her, she went toe-to-toe with both Leo _and_ Raph."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty good myself." Sokka boasted. "In fact I'll prove it."

"Sokka wait…" Don tried to stop him but he was already walking towards Karai.

Toph simply smirked. "This should be good."

Karai sliced another drop as Sokka called out her name. "Hey, Karai."

She stopped her practice to turn around. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I imagine you must be pretty good with a sword, hmm?" Sokka mused as he held a confident look on his face.

"I would assume so." Karai replied. She was not one to brag or boast.

"Well let's see how good you are. How about a Swordbending match?" Sokka suggested as he took out his space-sword.

"I don't believe 'Swordbending' is a real word." Karai replied.

"You know what I mean, a sparing match!"

Karai was mildly surprised. "No offense Sokka, but I believe I'm a little out of your league."

"That's what I said!" Mikey called out from his spot, briefly getting their attention before turning back to each other.

"Come on! I went toe-to-toe with one of the Dark Turtles!" Sokka stated.

"Not by yourself Sokka." Don told him.

"Details, details." Sokka brushed away. "So come on Karai. You and me. Unless your scared."

Karai sighed. She could tell that Sokka wasn't going to take no for an answer, so she decided to humor him. "Very well."

"Alright!" Sokka cheered as he jumped back a bit and held his space-sword as Karai only took out a single katana.

Toph smirked as she, Don, and Mikey watched. "This should be good."

Sokka yelled as he lunged forward with a thrust, but Karai not only blocked the sword with her katana, but also was able to slide around behind Sokka and sweep him off his feet with her right leg, knocking him down.

"KO!" Mikey exclaimed like a referee.

"Not even a full second. Way to go Sokka." Toph stated with her smirk still present.

"We _did_ try to warn him." Don said.

Sokka got up with an irritated look. "Rematch. Now."

"I don't think that's wise." Karai suggested.

"Maybe not, but Sokka's not the wisest of this group." Toph cracked.

"Aw snap!" Mikey stated.

Sokka took up his space-sword yet again as he tried to swing it down to her, but she blocked it with her katana again before knocking Sokka down with a palm-thrust with her free hand. He tried to get back up and swing from the side, but Karai blocked it again before parrying it upwards and landing a kick to his chest to kick him down.

"Zero-to-Three." Mikey kept score. "You might wanna give up Sokka."

"Oh no, please keep going." Toph said in-between chuckles. "This is so freaking funny!" She laughed at the idea of Sokka getting constantly owned.

"Karai, can't you go a little easy on him?" Don tried.

"I had thought I was." Karai replied.

Sokka was really getting tired of this as he took out his boomerang and threw it towards her, she ducked to avoid it. But he saw it come back, however Karai was able to hear it coming back so she was effortlessly able to catch it with her free hand.

Sokka looked even more in surprise. Karai tossed him back the boomerang. "You're good Sokka, I will give you that. However, you still have some ways to go, but do not worry, for you will only get better."

Karai then began to walk away as Sokka looked in her direction. "Wow, she _is_ good."

"Even though we told you like _repeatedly_?" Mikey questioned to him.

* * *

 _Later that night_

April and Katara had prepared dinner for the whole group as they, Leo, Aang, Mikey, Toph, Raph, Don, Sokka, Haru, the Duke, and Teo all sat down and ate near a campfire in the courtyard. Appa was nearby as well eating a pile of hay. Karai walked towards the area and spotted Zuko leaning back against a pillar. The two made eye contact and she could tell there was something on his mind; she nodded in understanding as the two approached the main group.

"Listen up everybody." Zuko said, getting the group's attention. "I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff."

"Well don't look at me, I didn't touch your stuff." Mikey said. "Maybe Raph did." This resulted in Raph smacking Mikey in the back of the head. "Ow!"

"I don't think that's what he means." Don said.

"I'm talking about my Firebending." Zuko clarified. "It's gone."

"What?" Karai questioned as most of the group looked in surprise.

"Saywha?!" Mikey questioned as well.

However, the only one in the group who wasn't shocked, besides Raph, was Katara who could only laugh. This resulted in a glare in her direction from Leo and Karai; even Mikey, Aang, and April gave her questionable looks.

"I'm sorry." Katara said in fake sincerity. "I'm just laughing at the irony. You know how nice for us if you lost your Firebending a long time ago?"

"Katara, knock it off." April told her.

Karai looked towards Zuko. "What do you mean that your Firebending is gone?"

"Well its not lost it's just… weaker for some reason." Zuko tried to explain, despite not quite understanding it himself.

"Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are." Katara said in a scowl.

"Katara, stop!" Leo told her. "How would you feel if you lost your Waterbending? Didn't you say once that Bending is a part of someone, or have you forgotten?"

Katara tried to come up with a reply, but she couldn't find a good argument that wouldn't put her in a bad spotlight so she just simply looked away.

"Do you think it was the Sword of Tengu?" April asked. "Maybe when you used it, the magic somehow blocked your Firebending?"

"I do not believe so." Karai responded. "The sword's power is not meant to suppress a being's chi but rather enhance it. So I do not believe the sword is the reason."

Zuko tried to think of something himself. "I bet its because I changed sides."

"That's ridiculous." Katara said, not even looking in his direction. Leo looked with a glare at her.

"I don't know, maybe it isn't." Aang began. "Maybe your Firebending comes from rage, and maybe you don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to."

"I doubt that's it." Leo commented. "I would understand if it we're righteous anger, but anger alone could only do so much."

"But what if it is anger Leo?" Mikey tried. "Because if that we're the case…" He smirked along with Sokka.

"All we have to do is make Zuko angry." Sokka finished. "Easy enough."

Mikey and Sokka both began to try and annoy Zuko, Karai looked irritably at those two, not liking the way they we're treating her friend as they repeatedly poked him; Mikey with his fingers and Sokka with the handle of his sword. They did manage to get on Zuko's nerves but would soon regret it.

"Alright! Cut it out!" Zuko yelled; causing both Sokka and Mikey to flinch and fall to the ground; this resulted in some laughs from Don, Toph, even Leo and Raph; even April chuckled a bit while Katara just glared at them. Karai had her own smirk as well, finding the humor in it as well.

"Look, even if your right I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore, there has to be another way." Zuko stated.

"Well Avatar Roku was a Firebender wasn't he?" Don recalled. "Unless he was angry all the time I think he may have found a way."

Karai looked towards Aang. "Master Avatar, could your past life have found the true way to Firebend, and not rely on anger for it?"

Aang looked somewhat confused why Karai called him 'master' but still answered her question. "Well if he did, he hasn't told me."

Don began to think. "In science if we find something wrong we usually have to trace it back to find the source."

"Yeah that's a good idea." Toph agreed as Sokka sat down next to her. "Zuko is going to have to draw his Firebending from the original source."

"How is he supposed to do that? By jumping into a volcano?" Sokka joked while everyone just rolled his or her eyes in annoyance.

"No." Toph deadpanned. "He needs to go back to whatever the original source of Firebending is."

"So, is it jumping into a volcano?" Sokka asked.

"Hey, how about _you_ jump into a volcano Sokka and spare us all your bad jokes." Raph told him.

"Seriously Sokka, even _I_ didn't think it was funny." Mikey had to agree.

Sokka crossed his arms immaturely and grumbled. "I thought it was pretty funny."

"Well, for Earthbending the original Earthbenders we're badger moles…." Toph began.

* * *

 _Flashback_

A six-year old Toph sat alone in a large cave as she cried, tears running down her face.

" _One day when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave."_

As Toph cried, she heard a large explosion-like noise behind her as the wall collapsed. A badger-mole had crawled out of the hole and began to approach the little Toph.

" _That's how I met them."_

The badger-mole sniffer little Toph, she tried to sniff him as well, which resulted in the badger-mole licking her face, causing her to giggle. She hugged its snout and licked its nose in response.

" _They we're blind, just like me. So we understood each other."_

The badger-mole began to crawl away and Toph began to follow it by crawling herself, mimicking the larger creature's actions.

" _I was able to learn Earthbending, not just as a martial art, but an extension of my senses."_

The badger-mole used its claws to clear away a large pile of rocks blocking its path as it continued forward.

" _For them, the original Earthbenders, it wasn't just about fighting, it was their way of interacting with the world."_

Little Toph stood up and began to kick the ground and used Earthbending for the first time to move a rock, resulting in a gleeful smile.

 _End Flashback_

* * *

Toph had just finished telling her story as Raph ruffled her head. "Wow, even as a little kid you are so cool kiddo."

"I know." Toph replied almost smugly.

"So, even though you are blind, you use your Earthbending to feel the area around you?" Karai questioned for clarification.

"Yep, that's the sum of it." Toph answered.

Karai gave an impressive smile. "Very interesting."

"'Interesting'? More like amazing!" Aang began. "I learned from the monks that the original Airbenders we're the Sky-Bison." He looked towards his beloved Appa. "Maybe you could give me a lesson sometime buddy?"

Appa gave a roar in response. April looked towards Katara. "So, who we're the original Waterbenders? Some kind of fish?"

"Actually, you're not that far off." Katara began. "The original Waterbenders we're actually the Moon and Ocean spirits but they came to this world and took the forms of Koi Fish."

Zuko had a disappointed look on his face. "Well this doesn't help me, the original Firebenders we're the dragons and they're extinct."

Karai gave a questionable look at this, as did Aang. "What do you mean? Roku had a dragon, and there we're plenty of dragons when I was a kid."

"Well they aren't around anymore! Okay!?" Zuko exclaimed, most of the group looked in surprise at that reaction.

"Okay, okay, sorry." Aang tried.

"So that's it then, right?" Raph questioned. "Cause if that's the case we're screwed."

"No maybe, there's another way." Zuko began as he turned around and looked outward toward a fountain. "The first people to learn from the dragons we're the ancient Sun Warriors."

Karai, Leo, and Aang joined him. "Sun Warriors?" Leo questioned. "Does that mean anything to you, Aang?" Leo asked him.

Aang shrugged. "Never heard of them."

"I wouldn't expect you to, they died off thousands of years ago." Zuko replied.

Mikey rolled his eyes. "You know, maybe we should have a list of the things that 'died off' in this word, just so we know what's a dead end and what's not."

"Perhaps though the Sun Warriors could still help us, even if they do no longer exist." Karai suggested. "Perhaps there may be something in their civilization, perhaps some form of records of their teachings from the dragons."

"Maybe." Zuko seemed to agree. "They're civilization isn't too far from where we are now. Maybe we _could_ find something by poking around their ruins."

Leo began to think. "Master Splinter once said that sometimes the past is a mirror in which we can see the reflection of what the future may hold."

"So what, maybe you'll pick up some super old Sun Warrior energy just by standing where they stood a thousand years ago?" Sokka questioned.

"Yeah, no offense Zuko, but this sounds like a bit of a stretch." April told him.

"No offense taken." Zuko replied. "And you're right it _is_ a stretch, but it's the only option we have. Either I find a way to Firebend or the Avatar has to find a new teacher."

"However, thanks to the Shredder, that is not going to be an option for us." Karai said.

Aang looked away but Leo had a serious expression on his face. It was a long shot, but it was the _only_ shot they had. "Alright; everyone get some sleep. Tomorrow morning; Aang, Zuko, Karai, and I will head to those ruins and see what we can find. Everyone else will stay here, and keep the Sword of Tengu close, just in case the enemy happens to find us."

* * *

 _The Next Morning_

The massive ship that was the Foot-Carrier flew through the skies toward an unknown destination. Within the Foot-Carrier, in a hallway, Ty-Lee looked excitedly out the window.

"Whoa! Can you believe how I we are?!" Ty-Lee excitedly exclaimed. "This is amazing Mai! I…" Her smile vanished as she saw Mai leaning against a metal wall still holding the note Zuko left her, she could tell from the look on her face she was still upset.

"Mai…. Are you okay?"

"You know the answer to that." She said in a low voice. Ty-Lee looked in sympathy as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "He could have at least looked me in the eye…."

"Mai, I'm sure Zuko had his reasons." Ty-Lee tried. "And Karai's with him to so I think he's okay."

"I'm surprised that you're not upset by this, Ty-Lee." Mai told her as she looked toward her.

"I never said I wasn't." Ty-Lee replied. "But I don't really blame them for leaving, I mean this _is_ Shredder we're talking about. You know how scary he is."

Mai gave a sigh, as she knew exactly what she was talking about. "You're right. I just wish they would have at least told us."

Ty-Lee then began to change the subject. "Hey, have you been hearing what the Foot is telling everyone? I can't believe what they're all saying! Zuko and Karai both led the invasion and killed Zuko's dad!? Can you believe that?!"

"No, not for a second." Mai said in a serious voice. "Ozai did get what he deserved and I wouldn't blame Zuko if he _did_ do that, but to pull something off like that, it's just… it's not like him at all."

Ty-Lee's eyes widened in realization. "You don't think Shredder was the one who did it do you?!"

"And he's setting up Karai and Zuko for the fall so he can keep Azula in line and run the Fire Nation himself?" Mai summed up. "I wouldn't put it past him."

"So what do we do then if it _was_ him?" Ty-Lee asked.

Mai looked seriously at her friend. "For now, lets just keep our heads low and try to figure this out for ourselves."

Ty-Lee nodded in agreement. Not a full second after that the aforementioned Fire Nation princess approached them.

"Mai, Ty-Lee, Master Shredder wants us on the bridge."

"We're coming." Ty-Lee said as she and Mai followed Azula down the hallway. A few moments later they came to a large metal door, which opened up automatically to reveal the bridge of the Foot-Carrier. Several Foot technicians we're at the stations on the bridge as the three girls walked closer to the glass window at the front with Oroku Saki, Hun, Stockman, and the Foot Elite.

"We should be in Ba-Sing-Se in less than a minute, Master." Stockman said to Saki.

"Good." Oroku Saki turned to a technician. "Prepare a helicopter, we'll be landing there momentarily."

The technician bowed as he walked out of the control room to ready a chopper. "Hey uh… why are we going to Ba-Sing-Se anyway?" Ty-Lee asked.

Hun turned around with a sharp glare. "Show some respect. You will address him as 'master'!"

Ty-Lee gulped in frightened. "Sorry."

Mai glared at Hun before turning to Oroku Saki. "But why _are_ we going to the Earth Kingdom capital? Sure its still under Fire Nation control but what's there for us exactly?"

"I am a bit curious myself." Azula admitted. "We never did come back here ever since our little 'episode' with the Avatar and his pet Turtles."

Oroku Saki smiled as they all looked to the window and Ba-Sing-Se was in sight. "You see, ever since my armies have come to this world, there has been a large majority of them that has been working to see to it this city could be of use to us."

The Foot-Carrier flew over the city where in the Lower and Middle Rings several Fire Nation tanks and soldiers patrolled the city.

"And, we have found away to make it work for us." Oroku Saki said as the Foot-Carrier flew over the Upper Ring. "Ba-Sing-Se is no longer the capital of the Earth Kingdom, but rather Foot Central Command."

He gestured for them to look out the window as Azula, Mai, and Ty-Lee looked down and all three Fire Nation girls could only look in shock and surprise at what they saw. The Earth King's palace was gone, and in its place was a large metal fortress that resembled that of a Samurai's Fortress with towers all over. The fortress was surrounded by several large black and red mech-suits piloted by Foot Ninja and a large Foot symbol was decorated on the central tower of the fortress.

* * *

 _Elsewhere_

Aang was at the reigns of his flying Sky-Bison with Karai, Leo, and Zuko ridding on the saddle on Appa's back. Zuko brought his Dao-Swords along just incase they ran into trouble as his Firebending was currently unavailable.

"We've been riding for hours." Zuko stated. "I don't know why but I thought this thing would be a lot faster." He said in regards to Appa.

"I assumed so as well." Karai agreed. "Given how this beast was able to avoid being spotted by the Fire Nation for almost a year."

Appa gave a groan, almost in direct response to their comments. "Appa's right guys." Aang said to them. "In our group, we usually start our missions with a more up-beat attitude."

"Is he always like this?" Karai asked Leo, referring to Aang.

"Yep." Leo confirmed. "Keep in mind that he _is_ a thirteen-year-old kid."

Zuko leaned back with a sighing groan. "I can't believe this."

Karai meanwhile had a question. "Master Avatar, if I may, how is it this creature of yours is able to fly without wings?"

Aang looked back at her. "Its like I said last night, the Sky-Bison we're the original Airbenders. Appa's able to bend the air around his body and that lets him fly."

"Incredible." Karai breathed.

Leo caught sight of something as they moved past the clouds toward a small island. "You know what else is incredible? That!"

He pointed downward as Aang, Zuko, and Karai all saw what appeared to be an ancient city built out of stone, even a large pyramid-like structure in the middle.

"Whoa!" Aang and Zuko exclaimed at the same time, while Karai looked surprised and impressed as well.

"Alright Aang, set Appa down, we'll proceed on foot the rest of the way." Leo told him.

"Got it." Aang snapped the reins so Appa could descend closer to the ruined city and land right on the outskirts. As soon as they landed, they all got down off Appa. "Stay here buddy, we'll be back." Appa gave a groan in response as the group entered the city.

Leo, Aang, Karai, and Zuko walked through the ruins and took note of the old architecture of the ruins.

"Even though these building's are ancient, there's something eerily familiar about them." Zuko said as the four of them walked in-between two old buildings. "I can tell the Fire Sage's temples are somehow descended from these."

"Well I don't know about that, but I can see plenty of similarities between this place, and other ancient civilizations from our world as well." Leo noticed. "Aztec, Mayan, maybe even Cambodian."

"Okay, we learned something about architecture, hopefully we'll learn something about Firebending to." Aang said. "The past can be a great teacher."

Karai looked down and noticed Aang's foot pulling on a small rope. Her eyes widened, realizing what could happen. As Aang was about to trip, Karai quickly grabbed him and jumped over a pit of spikes that shot out of the ground. Karai was able to land herself and the Avatar over the pit to safety.

"Master Avatar, are you alright?" Karai asked him somewhat urgently.

Aang took a few breaths. "Yeah, but I think the past is trying to kill me."

Leo and Zuko both kneeled down to inspect the trap. "I can't believe it, this bobby trap must be centuries old."

"And yet it still works." Leo added. "Impressive engineering for ancient civilization."

"There could be many more scattered over this place." Karai guessed as she helped Aang to his feet.

"Maybe this means we shouldn't be here." Aang said in a worried and cautious tone of voice.

Zuko and Leo both took a few steps back before they began to run. Leo ran along the right wall over the trap as Zuko mimicked his actions on the left one before they joined the others.

"Where's that upbeat attitude you we're talking about?" Zuko asked in an almost playful tone. "Besides people don't make traps unless they've got something worth protecting."

"Alright, there's gotta be something here that can help us." Leo said. "Lets split up and cover more ground. Zuko you're with me, Karai you go with Aang. We'll meet at the top of that pyramid in two hours." Leo pointed the pyramid.

Everyone nodded as they split up in two separate directions.

* * *

Leo and Zuko both walked up a set of steps and came to an ancient mural that showed a hieroglyphic picture of two dragons shooting flames out at a Sun Warrior who was bending the fire around him almost like a person of divinity.

"Well this looks promising." Leo observed. "But I'm not a Firebender so I can't exactly tell what it has to do with Firebending."

"They look pretty angry to me." Zuko said, referring to the dragons in the picture.

"Maybe it's a 'trial-by-fire' sort of thing. You have to prove yourself to them. Or something along those lines." Leo said, but it was those words that made Zuko look down, Leo noticed the look on his face and could tell that there was something off about it.

"Zuko, what happened to the dragons?" Leo questioned. "Nothing just vanishes, even in the span of a whole century."

Zuko closed his eyes in shame before opening them. "My great grandfather Sozin happened." Zuko began as he and Leo both walked down a stone bridge towards the large pyramid.

"He started the tradition of hunting dragons for glory. They we're the ultimate Firebenders, and if you could conquer one, your Firebending talents would become legendary and you would earn the honorary title 'Dragon'." The two came before a two dragon statues, one had its head removed and it was lying on the ground. "The last great dragon was conquered long before I was born…" he placed a hand on the dragon's eye. "By my uncle."

"Let me guess, he has a past he's not proud of." Leo guessed.

"Yeah, family tradition I guess." Zuko said. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to Leo who gave an encouraging smile.

"Everyone has demons in their past their not proud of, but that doesn't mean that you can't make it right." Leo told him, earning a smile from Zuko.

"Thanks, lets move on."

Leo nodded as they proceeded onward.

* * *

Elsewhere; Karai and Aang we're in a different area looking at similar murals that showed images of dragons.

"Master Avatar, can you find anything regarding Firebending?" Karai asked.

"I don't know, I've never seen these things before." Aang said. "And one thing, why do you keep calling me 'Master'?"

"If you recall I pledged my loyalty to you." Karai told him as they faced each other. "I am your servant." She bowed to him. "Therefor I am obliged to show the proper respect to you."

Aang really didn't know how to respond, but he tried as best he could. "Uh Karai I… look. I don't want to disrespect any of your traditions or anything, but I really don't think I'm 'master' material."

"Well I believe you are." Karai told him as the two began to walk closer to the large pyramid. "During my time in the Fire Nation I've looked up information on the Avatar, including records of your predecessor Roku. You can control the four elements, in a sense that allows you to control almost the entire planet. In addition, you are even able to live a new life after death, reincarnation, which is not too dissimilar from immortality. I do not know what they call it in your world, but in mine when someone has the power to literally control the world _and_ has immortality, one could consider that a god."

To say Aang was surprised would be an understatement. No one ever called him that before. Sure people always gave him the 'hero' treatment, but a god?

"Wow… I… you… you think I'm a god?!" Aang questioned.

"The closet thing to one I've seen in this world, if at a least a demigod." Karai responded.

Aang seemed to have regained his bearings. "Karai I… Look I'm really flattered you think I'm all that. But… honestly… I don't like it when people think I'm better than them."

Karai looked mildly surprised. "You don't want me to show you respect?"

"No, no." Aang held his hands out defensively. "Respect is fine, I'm okay with respect. But… when people think I'm some kind of all-powerful being, that I'm superior to everyone… that isn't me. When I was little the Monks taught me that everyone and everything in the world is equal. All the people, animals, and plants; we're all equal. I mean yes, I get it if someone we're a king or mayor or something like that, but me above everyone else?" Aang shook his head. "I'm not that kind of kid. So if you want to show me respect, go ahead I won't stop you, but please don't think that I'm better than you Karai, I'm not. I like to think of all my friends as equals, and I'd like to think of you one to."

That last statement even further surprised Karai. "You and I are… friends?"

"Of course. I mean you and Zuko helped save my friends and I from the Dark Turltes." Aang offered his hand to shake.

Karai didn't know how to respond for a minute, here in front of her was someone that she almost considered devin with great power but to her surprise, he was actually offering his hand in friendship, something she did not see coming. Still, she nonetheless took it.

"So, if you do not want me to call you 'master' what should I call you?" Karai asked.

Aang smiled. "How about just Aang. All my friends do."

Karai smiled in return. "Very well, Aang."

"Come on." Aang said. "Maybe Leo and Zuko might have found something." He ran towards the pyramid, Karai followed, as she did her thoughts fell onto a few other individuals that she considered her friends as well, she had hoped they we're doing alright.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se; Foot Central Command._

A foot helicopter flew down from the hovering Foot-Carrier and landed on a central landing-zone right before the main entrance of the massive citadel, guarded by two large Foot-Mech suits while a dozen Foot ninja all lined up and bowed just as the doors opened up to reveal Oroku Saki, Azula, Hun, Mai, Ty-Lee, Stockman, and the Foot Elite all step out.

Saki was at the lead as he saw a certain young scientist approach him. "Dr. Chaplin, I trust everything is in order."

"Yes Master." Chaplin said. "Both the tech and genetic divisions have everything underway."

"Excellent." Oroku Saki smiled.

"Who is this?" Azula questioned, referring to the scientist.

"Dr. Chaplin." Stockman replied. "One of the lead scientist the foot."

Ty-Lee leaned in close to Mai. "He seems nice, his aura isn't as bad as the rest of the Foot guys." She whispered to him, but Mai quickly made a shush noise to her to keep quiet so the Foot wouldn't hear.

"Has our guest arrived as well?" Oroku Saki asked.

"She has." A new voice spoke up, belonging to a certain old and sadistic moment as she walked up to the group. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Shredder."

"And who might this be?" Azula questioned once more.

"Girls." Hun began to introduce the elderly woman to the younger females of the Fire Nation. "Allow me to introduce to you one of the Foot's newest and deadliest members, Hama of the Southern Water Tribe."

Mai and Ty-Lee found themselves a bit surprised. "Is she a Waterbender?" Mai asked Ty-Lee.

"Her aura says yes but there's something else in it… it's kind of… scary." Ty-Lee slightly shivered, as Hama's aura wasn't too different from Shredder's.

"A Waterbender from that pitiful Southern Tribe is joining us?" Azula questioned, earning a glare from Hama. "What idiot gave the approval for something _this_ stupid?"

"I did." Oroku Saki said to her in a cold monotone voice with a questionable look in his eyes.

Azula's eyes widened in surprise as she quickly turned to him and tried to put a smile on. "Oh. Well… I'm sure you have your reasons… Master Shredder."

Oroku Saki's look hadn't faded yet as he kept a small glare in her direction. "Indeed."

Hun smirked towards Azula. "I have a feeling that you and the old lady here will get along nicely princess, cause you two have something in common. Hama here _also_ hates the Turtles."

Azula gave a smirk in response to that.

* * *

 _Sun Warrior Village_

Aang, Zuko, Leo, and Karai had all met up at the top of the pyramid, which had a large door to a chamber with a tower and a red gemstone at the top.

"Did you guys find anything?" Leo asked Aang and Karai

"No." Aang shook his head. "You guys?"

"Nothing." Leo shook his head as everyone seemed a bit disappointed so far.

"Perhaps this place could be promising, considering we've looked everywhere else." Karai suggested towards the door.

Aang quickly moved towards the door, he put down his staff and tried to pry it open. "It's locked up!"

"Couldn't you use your Earthbending to break it down?" Leo asked.

Aang rubbed the back of his head. "Well… I don't want to be disrespectful or anything."

Zuko rolled his eyes slightly, but as he did he spotted a light coming from the red gemstone in the small tower. "Wait." He got the group's attention, as he moved to the side he saw a red light on the ground. He figured it out

"It's a celestial calendar, just like the Fire Sages have in their temples." Zuko began as he looked up to a large red sunstone just above the door. "I bet that sunstone opens the door, but only when sunlight hits it at just the right angle, on the solstice."

Leo and Karai looked in disappointment. "Ah shell!" Aang cursed. "The solstice again?! We can't wait here that long!"

"No we cannot." Karai agreed. "Perhaps we can find another way in."

"Maybe we won't have to." Zuko said.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked.

Zuko took out one of his dao-swords "I mean maybe we can outsmart the sunstone." He placed his sword in the path of the red light and began to reflect the light off the metal of his blade. He redirected the light to the sunstone. It hit but nothing happened right away.

"Nothing's happening." Aang observed.

"Give it a minute." Leo told him.

"Come on." Zuko uttered.

After a couple seconds, the door shook before the doors to the chamber began to pull apart and open up for everyone.

"Very clever Zuko." Karai complemented. "I'm sure not even Azula could have figured that out."

Zuko smiled at her complement as the group walked inside. Aang was the first one to enter as he saw a statue that caused him to gasp in surprise, backing up.

"Aang relax, they're just statues." Leo told him.

The group had entered a very large chamber as statues surrounded the middle in some form of circle, and each one was in a different type of stance. The statues on the left side of the circle seemed to mirror the ones on the right as they followed some kind of pattern.

Karai looked at the statues. "They seem to be moving in some sort of pattern." She began to think. "Perhaps some Firebending technique?"

"Well it's not like any technique I've seen before." Zuko commented as he looked around.

Aang looked at the base of one of the statues close to the door. "It says this is something called the 'Dancing Dragon'."

"Well that does sound like some kind of Fire-based move." Leo said. "Maybe this form of Firebending may not be a fighting form, but something else."

Aang looked at how the statue was perched and he mimicked its stance exactly, but as he did, he noticed the tile below his foot shift downward slightly. He began to look around at the other statutes and soon got an idea.

Aang quickly ran over and grabbed Zuko's arm. "Zuko come over here! I want you to dance with me!"

"What?!" Zuko questioned while Leo and Karai looked surprised as well.

"Aang what are you…?" Leo tried.

"Just trust me!" Aang had dragged Zuko with him and placed him at the statue that mirrored Aang's.

Leo and Karai watched them as they began to move, even Zuko did but he grunted as he did. "Let's follow the steps of the statues!"

As they moved to follow the statue next to them, Zuko noticed the tile under his foot move and his eyes widened slightly realizing Aang was onto something.

"You we're right Karai." Aang said as he mimicked the stances of his statues. "This _is_ some form of Sun Warrior Firebending form! These statues are giving us a lesson."

"Who would have thought, huh?" Leo guessed as he looked to Aang who performed his stance moves while Karai watched Zuko do his.

"This better teach us some really good Firebending." Zuko muttered, as he felt slightly embarrassed. Aang and Zuko had finally finished following the statues and came together with final stances of bringing their fists together.

Once it was finished, the group heard a mechanical-like noise in the center. They looked to the center of the chamber to see a hatch on the floor open up, revealing an ascending pedestal with a golden egg-like object perched on the top.

"Hooray!" Aang cheered while the rest of group looked confused. "Wait… what exactly is that?"

"It looks like some kind of… egg." Leo observed.

"I don't recall eggs being made out of gold." Karai said.

"Maybe some kind of mystical gemstone." Zuko guessed as he ran towards it.

"Well don't touch it!" Aang exclaimed.

"Why not?" Zuko asked.

"Remember what happened out there with those spikes?" Aang recalled as he shot his arms upward for emphasis.

"Yeah I think Aang may have a point Zuko." Leo said. "You honestly think there's some kind of gold gemstone just sitting in the middle of the room without any defenses and don't think it may be bobby-trapped?"

"Perhaps they may be right." Karai agreed as well.

Despite their pleas, it was clear Zuko did not see 'Raiders of the Lost Arc' as he picked up the gemstone from its perch. "It feels… almost alive."

Leo sighed. "Three… two… one…"

There was a brief rumbling sound before a stream of dark green liquid shot out from the center of the chamber at Zuko and sent him flying to a barred window at the top of the chamber; much to Aang and Karai's shock. They turned and saw the door leading outside close.

"Yep, it's bobby-trapped. Called it." Leo said unsurprised as more dark green liquid poured out and began to flood the area; forcing Aang, Leo, and Karai to back up.

Zuko surprisingly felt himself stuck to the bars of the ceiling-window and couldn't move, despite his tries. "I can't pull free! It's like some kind of glue!"

"Move! Move!" Leo exclaimed as he and Karai jumped up the walls and on top of the statues' heads. As this happened, Aang quickly moved to retrieve his staff. He jumped onto a statue and jumped outward, swinging his staff downward, sending an airwave up to Zuko, and forcing him to face-upward toward the outside.

The glue quickly continued to flood the chamber even more; Karai slipped and fell into the glue herself. Her head and right arm was the only thing sticking out, but the rest of her body was immobile.

"I can't move! I'm stuck!"

"Karai, hang on!" Leo tried to give her a hand, but a wave of the glue hit him from behind and he fell in as well on his shell, with his head stuck facing outward.

As this happened, Aang's staff also got stuck in the glue and he was unable to move it. Aang jumped straight up to the window where Zuko was stuck, but once his hands and feet touched it he found himself stuck as well.

"I can't move! Zuko do something!"

"Me?! I can't move either!"

"Guys look out!" Leo called out as the glue flood forced him and Karai upward; their heads stuck out through the window as they found themselves stuck with Zuko and Aang; but once the glue reached the top it stopped. Aang, Zuko, and Leo's heads we're stuck facing the sky, where as Karai's head was the only one sticking up but she couldn't move it very much.

"I think it stopped." Leo said.

"But now we are all stuck here." Karai said.

"Well at least we have air." Zuko said as well. "Maybe if we stay calm, we can figure a way out of this."

"Are we going to tell any of the others about this?" Aang asked.

"No we are not!" Leo stated as he knew his brothers, Raph especially, would never let him live it down.

This left the four of them stuck as they all tried to figure out a way to get free of their predicament.

* * *

 _Western Air Temple_

Raph made himself a wooden dummy that he was currently using to practice several punches and kicks on.

"Well glad to see you're keeping busy." Toph commented as she walked onto the scene.

"What ya doing here kid?" Raph greeted as he continued his workout.

"Eh, I was bored." Toph shrugged. "And Katara's paranoia is really getting on my nerves. 'Oh do you think Aang's okay?' 'I knew we shouldn't have let him go with Karai and Zuko alone'. Geeze if I keep hearing anymore I think I'm gonna loose my mind!"

"Well I don't exactly blame her." Raph finished his workout with a punch to the wooden dummy. "I mean this is Karai and Zuko we're talking about; both kids of our major arch enemies."

"True. But Zuko can't Firebend; and even if it we're just Karai I'm sure Leo can take her." Toph said. "You know could ease up on them a bit."

"What makes you say that?" Raph questioned.

"I heard what you said to Zuko yesterday." Toph told him. "About his 'mommy' and all that. You know you're like my brother Raph, but that was _not_ cool at all."

"What? Leo tattled on me?" Raph scoffed

"No, I actually heard it. I wasn't that far from where you guys we're." Toph said.

"Whatever I was just messing with him."

"Yeah, no." Toph contradicted. "Messing with someone is one thing, I should know I wrote the book." She and Raph chuckled a bit. "But what you said to him… seriously that sounds like something Azula or Hun would say to someone. I mean you didn't like it when I said that 'mom comment' to Leo back during the scam-fiasco, so I didn't think you would basically say the same kind of thing."

Raph gave a contentful sigh. "Okay, maybe I was a bit out of line. But I still don't trust him, or Karai."

"I get that." Toph said. "But at least try to be a bit open with them. They _did_ save our lives, and Zuko used that fancy magic sword to take down the Dark Turltes and almost burnt his own hands off for it. I'd say he earned his keep."

"What about Karai? I don't see her pulling any fancy stunts like that." Raph said.

Toph smirked. "Well she _did_ own Sokka in a 'Swordbending match'." She used air-quotes.

Raph snickered. "Okay, props for that. But still… she's done a lot of things alright."

"But maybe you could just lay off on the insults, keep an open mind?" Toph suggested.

Raph gave yet another sigh. "Alright, I'll try to play nice. But I still ain't dropping this."

Toph shrugged. "Well that's a start."

* * *

Elsewhere in the Western Air-Temple Katara found herself pacing anxiously in the courtyard with April, Mikey, Don, and Sokka present as well.

"Katara, relax they're fine." Mikey tried to ease.

"How can you know that?" Katara questioned. "It's almost nighttime and they're still not back yet!"

"Well it's not like they're going grocery shopping." Don commented. "This could be something that takes a while."

"Well how hard can it be to learn some fancy fire-fighting?" Sokka questioned nonchalantly.

"Well, considering they have to decipher info from a culture that's been long extinct, I'd say it would be pretty hard." Don replied.

"I knew we should have gone with them!" Katara uttered. "We can't trust Zuko or Karai!"

Mikey rolled his eyes. "This again?"

"You know, you we're being a little mean to him last night." April told Katara.

"Who?" Katara questioned.

"Zuko of course." April told him. "Seriously, he lost his Firebending and you laughed at him for it."

"He deserved it." Katara spoke at him with a scowl.

"Katara, I think we all get what you're saying, but they have a point." Sokka said.

"You told Zuko to jump into a volcano!" She stated to her brother.

"I was joking! I wouldn't actually want anyone to jump into a volcano! Even Mikey said it was a bad joke." Sokka said.

"What has gotten into you Katara?" Don asked. "You've been acting like this ever since he and Karai shown up."

"Have you guys forgotten that he helped Shredder almost kill Aang in Ba-Sing-Se?! Because I sure haven't!" Katara exclaimed.

"Believe us I wish we _could_ forget all that." Mikey said. "But did _you_ forget that he was blackmailed? Shredder threatened to kill his family and friends, and when Shredder makes a threat he always follows through."

"His family deserved to die." Katara said coldly.

The group could not believe what Katara just said. "Katara! How can you say something so cruel?!" April questioned.

"Granted; Zuko's dad was war monger, and his sister a real harpy; but what about his uncle or his mother?" Don argued. "Remember what happened to _your_ mother? Can you honestly look at him and wish that kind of pain on someone?"

Katara had a dark look in her eyes as she faced the group. "At least then he would understand how I felt."

"What's happening to you Katara?" Mikey asked honestly. "How did you end up being such an ice queen?"

Katara groaned. "I can't be around any of you right now!" She stomped away from the group and deeper inside the temple as everyone looked at her with concern.

"What's gotten into her?" Sokka questioned. "I know she can be bossy, but this…"

"Wasn't she like this on the ship with her dad?" Don recalled.

"She was mad her dad before yes, but not like this. This is different." April said.

Mikey saw in the direction Katara went off to. He had a deep look of concern for the person he saw as a sister.

* * *

Inside the temple, Katara was in her own personal room with a small bowl of water. She angrily sat down on her bed with crossed arms.

" _I'm_ an ice queen?!" Katara muttered to herself. "They don't know Zuko, and Karai is Shredder's daughter. How can any of them trust them?! How can they all be so blind?!"

"Perhaps its not a matter of blindness, but arrogance." A new voice spoke up.

Katara stood up in surprise. "Who said that? Who's there?!"

She looked in the corner of her an eye an eerie glow coming from her bowl of water in the corner of her room. She went closer to inspect it, but when she got close the stream of water shot up, forcing her back. The stream shot up so that it was equal height of a human and began to take shape. The water itself seemed to almost solidify as it took the form of a transparent individual wearing a bluish-white robe with their face covered by a hood.

"Hello Katara." This being greeted.

Katara's eyes widened. "Wait… I know that voice."

The being lifted its hands to pull back a hood to reveal a transparent face of a woman with tan skin, blue eyes, and long brown hair. Katara's pupils shrank as she fell to her knees.

"M.. M… Mom?"

The transparent face of Kya, the mother of Katara and Sokka, long thought to be deceased smiled upon her.

"Oh my little girl, you've grown so much."

"Mom!" Katara exclaimed with a smile and tears of joy flowing down her eyes, she tried to hug her but her arms passed through as though the body we're made out of air.

"I am sorry Katara, but as much as I want to hold you, I'm afraid that I cannot." Kya told her.

"How… how is this…. Are… are you alive?" Katara breathed.

"No." Kya spoke. "I am very much dead. However, I have been watching you ever since that day I was taken from you and our family. I've seen everything: how you joined the Avatar and bravely stood against the Fire Nation, and now the Foot. However, I saw how tormented you've recently become so I begged the spirits in the Spirit World to allow me to speak with you. And they we're so gracious to allow me."

Despite this, it would seem Katara could smile at the thought of talking to her mother again. "Mom I… I don't know what to say… it's been so long. I have to tell Sokka."

"You cannot."

This confused Katara a great deal. "What do you mean? Why can't I?"

"Because the spirits allowed me to only visit you. I can only be seen through your eyes, to everyone else I am invisible."

"Oh." Katara looked down. "But… I am still so happy to see you again."

"As am I." Kya's smile faded. "But sweetie, I know that right now, you find yourself at odds with those around you."

Katara's smile turned back into a scowl. "So you know about Zuko and Karai?" Kya's spirit nodded. "How can any of them trust them?! Especially after everything they've done!"

"You always we're the smart one Katara." Kya told her. "You can see things that others remain blind to. Don't let that talent go to waste my child." Kya reached out her hand and came close to her daughter's left cheek. "Always remember to follow your heart and never doubt your instincts."

Once that was said, a tiny red electric energy shot out from Kya's index finger and close to Katara's eye. Her eyes widened slightly as a red glow entered Katara's eyes.

"I must go now, Katara. But do not worry we will speak again soon. I promise." Kya's body turned back into water and fell into the bowl.

Katara's eyes lowered as the red light began to fade into her pupils. Soon a dark look formed in her eyes, one that would strike fear into even Azula.

* * *

 _Foot Central Command; Foot Mystic Shrine_

The spirit of Kya stood at the mystic pool where she could see an image of Katara's dark look. An evil grin formed on Kya's face before water surged around her and it took shape to reveal that it was really the Foot Water Mystic in disguise all along.

The Fire, Earth, Metal, and Wind Mystics all joined their brother at the pool.

"Well?" The Fire Mystic asked.

"It is done." The Water Mystic said. "The child has taken the bait."

"Which means our influence has now fallen over her." The Metal Mystic commented.

"Her hatred and anger deep inside are strong." The Wind Mystic said. "She may believe that an act of betrayal may come from the wretch Karai as well as the former Fire Prince, Zuko."

"However, what she doesn't know that if there _is_ an act of betrayal it will not come from them, but from her." The Earth Mystic stated.

"With the proper motivation, our young Katara will be the blade that will sever the bonds she has formed with her own friends." The Fire Mystic stated. "She may even go so far as to claim the life of the Turtles."

"And once the Avatar sees just how far into darkness his love has fallen, his spirit will be broken." The Water Mystic continued. "And he will be all ours."

The five elemental Mystics let loose laughs that echoed throughout the entire shrine.

* * *

 _Sun Warrior Village_

Night had fallen onto the village and still Leo, Karai, Aang, and Zuko we're stuck. Any idea they came up with had failed to get them out.

"You _had_ to pick up the glowing egg, didn't you?" Aang uttered sarcastically.

"I did warn you it would be booby-trapped." Leo added as well.

"At least I made something happen!" Zuko defended. "If it we're up to you, we never would have made it past the courtyard!" He exclaimed to Aang.

"HELP!" Aang yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Whom are you calling out to?" Karai questioned. "Nobody has lived here for centuries!"

"Well do you guys have any better ideas?" Aang asked.

Zuko tried to think of something. "Think about our place in the universe?"

"Which one?" Leo uttered in defeat while Aang and Karai both gave sighs of their own.

However, it would appear that Aang's call for help did attract some attention as a man came up towards them. "Who is down there?!" He appeared to be a middle-aged man who wore clothes identical to that of the ancient Mayans with red face-paint.

Leo, Aang, Karai, and Zuko each expressed his or her own look of surprise, clearly not seeing any of this coming.

* * *

 _One Hour Later_

The four of them we're still covered in glue but had been pulled out of the trap as anteater-like creatures began to lick the glue off them. They faced, much to their surprise, multiple Sun Warriors. Each one of them was dressed in ancient clothing with red face-paint. A few of them provided some flames with Firebending to provide some light. Their chief faced the group as one of the Sun Warriors next to him held the golden egg.

"For trying to take our Sunstone, you must be severely punished." The chief sternly said.

"Please listen, we didn't come her to take your stone." Leo tried to reason with them.

"That's right, we came here to find the ancient origin of all Firebending." Zuko added.

The Sun Warrior who held the Sunstone didn't buy it. "Yeah right, they are obviously thieves, who have souled their souls to a demon that has tried to aid them to steal Sun Warrior treasure."

"I'm not a demon, I can promise you that." Leo replied.

"Please, I don't normally play this card, but I'm the Avatar." Aang introduced, this got the Sun Warrior's attention. He stood up as most of the glue was cleaned off him and his friends. "Just hear us out."

"My name is Leonardo." The Blue-Clad Turtle began. "Despite my unusual appearance, I mean you no harm. I'm a personal friend of the Avatar's."

"It's true, he is." Aang confirmed.

Karai stood up next. "I am called Karai. I am a _former_ warrior of the Foot Clan, but now my services belong solely to the Avatar, and his allies."

The last one to stand up was the scared prince. "My name is Zuko, crown prince of the Fire Nation, or at least I used to be. I know that my people have distorted the ways of Firebending, to be fueled by anger and rage, but now I want to learn the _true_ way, the _original_ way. When we came here I never imagined the Sun Warrior civilization was secretly alive, I am truly humbled to be in your presence." He bowed his head, as did Aang, Leo, and Karai. "Please teach us."

The Chief then began to speak. "If you wish to learn the ways of the sun, you must learn the masters Ran and Shaw."

"Ran and Shaw?" Leo questioned. "There are two of them?"

The Chief walked close to the group. "When you present yourselves to them they will examine you. They'll read your hearts, your souls, and your ancestry." He emphasized this last one by looking directly at Zuko. "If they deem you worthy, they will teach you; if they don't, you'll be destroyed on the spot."

He backed away as Leo, Aang, Karai, and Zuko all exchanged nervous glances.

* * *

 _Foot Central Command_

Oroku Saki was at the lead as Chaplin showed him, as well as Stockman, Hun, Azula, Mai, Ty-Lee, Hama, and the Foot Elite what had been going on. They had already seen everything the Tech Division had developed which we're those large Foot Mech Suits.

"As you can see, we've been very busy." Chaplin continued. "The Tech Division has developed all sorts of weapons far more advance than anything the Fire Nation alone could create, no offense."

"Oh, none taken Dr. Chaplin." Azula said with an impressed smile. "I admit, I am _very_ impressed with what you and Dr. Stockman have developed." She said as she looked at one of the newly constructed Mech Suits.

"This is crazy." Ty-Lee whispered to Mai. "And not in a good way."

"I know." Mai whispered back.

"So, how is Project Meteoroid proceeding?" Oroku Saki asked.

"We already have all the numbers on Sozin's Comet." Chaplin began to explain. "And all the required metal and resources created by the Fire Nation's factories has been transported here; the project should be completed in just a few days, well ahead of our intended schedule."

"Excellent." Oroku Saki said with a smile "Dr. Stockman, how is the Genetic Division proceeding?"

"Oh it is going well, Master, I promise you that." Dr. Stockman said with a malevolent grin. "Bending is a truly fascinating resource."

"Uh… what do you mean by that?" Ty-Lee nervously asked.

"To keep it simple for your primitive, we've been doing a little 'experimenting' with benders." Dr. Stockman replied.

As the group proceeded, Ty-Lee found herself stopped near a semi-open door as she saw a brief light coming from the crack and looked inside; what she saw made her pupils shrink with terror.

It had appeared to be three men strapped to tables, they we're speaking, perhaps cries for help, but Ty-Lee couldn't hear what they we're saying. She saw several Foot technicians strapping IV-like dives to their arms and a green mutagenic substance began to flow from the tubes and into their arms. All the men began to scream in pain as their veins began to pulse hard and become visible.

Ty-Lee had her mouth covered in horror, but before she could react Hun had grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her away.

"Nuh-uh-uh." Hun smirked evilly while shaking his finger. "Wouldn't want you getting nightmares." He dropped Ty-Lee as she quickly ran to Mai's side and stuck very close to her.

The group continued to proceed towards Stockman's own laboratory. "If I may be so bold, Master Shredder, why is this Waterbender with us right now?" Azula asked, earning a glare from Hama. "I mean I can understand her hate for the Turltes, I can't stand them myself, but what can a Waterbender do that a superior Firebender cannot accomplish besides making fancy splashes?"

Hama would have responded but Oroku Saki put a hand on her shoulder. "Hama is much like you Azula, she has taken her bending even further than anything a normal bender could conceive of. While you have managed to produce blue fire, the hottest flame known to man, and can effortlessly provide lightning; Hama has her own unique talent that only a select few Waterbenders can do."

"What talent exactly are we talking about?" Mai asked.

Hama smirked as she spoke. "Bloodbending."

Ty-Lee looked frightened; even Azula and Mai had surprised looks on their faces. Dr. Chaplin himself was looking rather uncomfortable.

"B.. B… Blood...bending…?" Ty-Lee stuttered while shaking like a kitten.

Hama then explained as she looked to the younger girls with a sinister grin. "When under a full moon I can control the water within a person's body and enforce my will over theirs. Anyone becomes my puppet to do as I see fit."

Oroku Saki smiled evilly at the thought of that. "Hama would have been left to rot had I not found her. To let a talent like that go to waste is just shameful."

"You ask me that wouldn't be such a bad thing." Mai uttered to Ty-Lee who rapidly shook her head in agreement.

Azula regained her composure. "Okay I will admit that this… Bloodbending could be useful. But no offense Hama, you seem a little too old for this."

It was clear that Azula meant offense in it which Hama did take as she was very tempted to put this brat in her place.

"I will have to agree with you on that Azula." Oroku Saki spoke. Hama looked in surprise as he spoke to her. "Your Waterbending skills are most impressive my dear Hama, however your body can only take so much." He continued to speak as the group entered Stockman's personal lab. "Which is why I had Dr. Stockman work on a special project just for you."

They stopped in the lab and saw a large green tech orb hanging just above the floor. On the front side of the orb was a blue liquid that held a floating body inside. The individual was a human female with Caucasian skin, long brown hair, closed eyes, she appeared to be in her mid-20s. The woman had tubes connecting to her arms, legs, and back of her head. She was almost naked save for some metal coverings over her chest and lower area. While Azula, Mai, and Ty-Lee looked a bit confused, Hama could only look in surprise.

She breathed out loud as she slowly walked towards it and placed a hand on the glass that kept the body in the liquid.

"Who is that?" Azula asked.

"Me…." Hama breathed, getting the Fire Nation girls' attention. "Its… me!"

"What?!" Ty-Lee almost shrieked.

"That's you?" Mai questioned.

"How can that be you, if you're you!" Ty-Lee exclaimed.

"It's not exactly you, to be more specific it is a cloned body of you." Dr. Stockman explained.

"A clone?" Hama questioned.

"What's a clone?" Ty-Lee asked.

Dr. Chaplin chose to explain to them. "A clone is basically a genetic copy of someone. A piece of them is taken; a strand of hair, a nail, a piece of skin, a small amount of spit or blood, and with the right technology we are able to grow our own copy."

"So to be clear, the person in this machine of yours is a copy of dear Hama?" Azula asked for clarification.

"That is correct." Oroku Saki confirmed.

"I'm not sure I understand what the point of this is." Hama stated as she faced the group.

"Allow me to explain in a way you'll understand Hama." Dr. Stockman said. "Some time ago I acquired a piece of your own genetic material where I was able to grow you a new body."

"A new body?" Hama questioned with surprise. "For me?"

"Yes." Dr. Stockman continued to explain as he explained the green technology orb's purpose. "I've designed this machine with the purpose of transferring your mind from your current body into this new one. Once the procedure is completed you'll be reborn in a sense. You'll retrain all your memories and experiences while also having a new and improved body."

"What do you mean by improved?" Azula asked.

"I didn't just make a carbon copy of Hama's body." Stockman explained further. "I have also developed a special Super Soldier accelerate to further enhance the body. It's now stronger and faster than it was before, even more than initial tests suggested. Early genome balances we're inevitable, but I've solved those problems as I always do."

"So, to make this clear. Hama will have a body that's even stronger than her original." Mai summed up.

"That is the sum of it." Stockman replied.

Hama could only look in surprise. "Is this… is this really happening? I can be young again and stronger to?"

"Yes Hama it is true." Oroku Saki said. "You can have a new body, one far more suited for exacting your revenge on the Turtles and their friends."

Hama looked at her cloned body and remembered when she fought the Turtles, Katara, and their friends. Suffering humiliation at their hands was a defeat she could not tolerate, but now the Shredder is providing her with the means to have her vengeance.

"I want it." She said with a sinister grin.

"I thought you might like it." Oroku Saki smiled.

"If you want, we can do the procedure right now." Dr. Stockman offered.

Hama's grin grew even wider. "Do you even have to ask?"

Dr. Stockman then led Hama to the other side of the orb where a small compartment opened up. He motioned for her to step inside, which she did. Once she was inside, Stockman got to work and hooked up straps to her wrists and ankles, as well as EEG pads on her heads; all of these had wires attached to them that connected to the technology wall behind Hama.

"Hey uh, are you sure this is a good idea, Azula?" Ty-Lee nervously asked her. "Her aura is very… _very_ twisted."

"Even I have to admit I'm a little freaked out by this." Mai admitted.

"If Master Shredder says its okay, then I believe him." Azula replied.

"She really has become his puppet, hasn't she?" Mai whispered to Ty-Lee who seemed in agreement.

"It's all ready." Dr. Stockman said as he stood up. "Now my dear Hama, its time to go to sleep, and when you awaken, you'll be a new woman."

He injected a sedative into her and she quickly fell to sleep as he stepped out and the door closed with Hama inside. "Dr. Chaplin, see to it the process is ready."

"Yes sir." Chaplin went to a console and began to type in a few commands.

"Now this is impressive Stockman." Hun complemented. "I haven't seen you put this much effort into anything."

"Please, I _always_ put effort into my work." Stockman replied.

"See that you continue to do so." Oroku Saki advised.

"If I may be so bold Master Shredder." Stockman began. "If this experiment works, perhaps I could do the same for myself? Could I clone my own body for me so I won't have to be just a pathetic looking brain inside a mechanical suit."

Oroku Saki had a serious look on his face. "That is a very bold request, Dr. Stockman." He began to think. "If Hama's new body is as efficient as your tests suggest, then I will consider your request."

Stockman knew that would probably be the best he'd get out of Shredder. "Thank you, Master Shredder."

"Dr. Stockman, sir." Chaplin called out. "Everything's ready!"

"Then begin." Stockman replied. Chaplin then pulled a lever to begin the procedure.

The lights in the large orb began to glow as a computer's voice spoke out. "Commencing Cerebral Transference". Inside the orb, the wires connected to Hama's old body began to glow, particularly the ones connected to her head as her mind was literally being carried by electric currents through the wires and into the system of the orb. It traveled through for a moment before it came out and traveled along the wires attached to the cloned body on the other side.

The cloned body's eyes twitched for a second before they shot open. The program in the orb proceeded as the floor below opened for a drain. The glass opened allowing all the blue liquid to fall out into the drain; the cloned body of Hama fell to the ground as the wires fell off her body. She coughed all the liquid out from her mouth as she felt along her body.

Oroku Saki, Azula, Hun, Mai, Ty-Lee, the Foot Elite, Stockman, and Chaplin gathered around her as she looked up taking deep breaths. She looked at her hands and felt them for a moment before a sinister grin formed on her face.

"I am back. In the flesh!" The newly restored younger Hama shouted joyously as she stood up on her feet.

Mai and Ty-Lee we're both shocked beyond belief, even Azula was completely surprised by this.

"Your body appears functional." Oroku Saki observed. "But I wonder about your Waterbending."

Hama smiled evilly before she made a stance and pulled out all the liquid from down below in the drain; she quickly froze it and broke it into multiple ice blades and almost sent them straight at Saki. They stopped just shy of his face; while all four Elite Ninja drew their weapons and brought them close to Hama's vital parts: her neck and heart. Azula and Hun stood close to Saki ready for a fight, while Mai backed away protecting Ty-Lee, even Chaplin stuttered back.

However, Oroku Saki was completely unaffected.

"Does that answer your question?" Hama asked calmly, resulting in Saki smiling. Hama lowered her stance causing the ice to turn back into water and fall to the ground. The Elite Ninja lowered their weapons as Azula and Hun backed down as well.

"Excellent work, Dr. Stockman." Oroku Saki congratulated. "Hama, allow me to officially welcome you into the Foot."

"I am honored." She bowed. "Master Shredder."

"Good." Oroku Saki turned to the Fire Princess. "Azula, meet your new partner."

"PARTNER?!" Azula and Hama both questioned at the same time; Ty-Lee and Mai we're both surprised as well.

"Of course." Oroku Saki began to explain. "As you can imagine, the unfortunate loss of Zuko and Karai left a bit of a gap in my origination, it is my hope that the newly restored Hama can fill that gap."

"Please tell me your joking." Hama said angrily. "You expect me to work with this Fire Nation wretch?!"

" _I'm_ a wretch?!" Azula questioned angrily as she and Hama glared at each other. "Do you know to whom you speak?!"

"Of course I know, the dead Fire Lord's brat!" Hama replied.

"Maybe I could put your new body to the test, Southern peasant!" Azula challenged, producing a blue flame in her hand.

"Yes I would very much like to break it in." Hama took a Waterbending stance.

"Enough!" Oroku Saki exclaimed as he stood in between them, getting both their attention. "While it is clear that each of you is a prodigy in your own right, your enemies far outnumber you; the Turltes, the Avatar, and their many allies. As talented as each of you are, the two of you alone cannot defeat all our enemies; working together however you may prove to be more than a match for our foes."

They both glared at each other. Oroku Saki was not in the mood for debate. "I am _not_ asking this of you. You two _will_ work together. That is an order."

Both femme fatales continued to glare at each other but lowered their stances. They reluctantly shook hands. Hama looked past Azula to Mai and Ty-Lee.

"Looks like we'll be spending some time together girls."

Ty-Lee looked more scared than she had ever been as she hid behind Mai. "Mai, I'm so scared right now."

"Good, so it's not just me."

* * *

 _The Next Day; Sun Warrior Village_

The Sun Warriors had escorted Leo, Aang, Zuko, and Karai to the top a smaller pyramid, at the top stood a very large flame.

"If you are going to see the Masters, you must bring them a piece of the Eternal Flame." The Chief explained to them. "This fire was the very first one. It was given to man by the dragons, we have kept it going for thousands of years."

"No way." Leo breathed in amazement.

"Incredible." Karai breathed in as well.

"I don't believe it." Zuko breathed to.

"The Avatar and former Fire Prince will each carry a piece of the Eternal Flame; while you two…" he spoke to Leo and Karai. "Shall carry flames yourselves via torches. As escorts of the two Firebenders you to will present your flames to the masters. All of you will show your commitment to the sacred art of Firebending."

Leo, Karai, and Zuko seemed to understand; while Aang looked nervous.

"Um… Mr. Sun Chief sir? Yeah… I'm not a Firebender yet. Couldn't my friend here carry my fire for me?" He gestured to Zuko. "Or can I get a torch to?"

"No."

Aang gulped. "Come on Aang." Leo leaned close to him. "We have to do this. Do you want to learn Firebending or not?"

Truth be told, Aang really didn't want to. Despite being told that Firebending was more than just death, he was still nervous. But given how bad the situation was for his world he had no choice. He silently nodded to Leo.

Two Sun Warriors walked to the flame as they stuck in torches, bearing resemblance to that of dragons, which caught some of the fire. The dragons' mouths on the torches had fire coming out of them as a torch was handed to Leo and the other to Karai.

The Sun Chief used his Firebending to pull out two small flames, one in each hand as he turned to Aang and Zuko. "This ritual illustrates the essence of Sun Warrior philosophy. You must maintain a constant heat…."

"The flame will go out if you make it too small." The Chief explained. Leo looked towards Aang who looked very nervous. "Make it too big and you might loose control." Karai looked towards Zuko with concern.

Zuko took his flame without hesitation; however, Aang was still hesitant. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous." Aang took the flame but once he took it he felt something he did not expect. "Its like a little heartbeat."

"Fire is _life_ , not just destruction." The Sun Chief said. Aang had a small smile on his face. The Sun Chief then pointed to the large mountain in the distance, it looked as though the summit was split in two. "You will each take your flames up there. The Cave of the Masters is beneath that rock."

* * *

Aang and Zuko carried their flames as they proceeded up towards the mountain while Leo and Karai still carried their torches. They proceeded through the lower forest area with no problem, but as they ascended further up the mountain, Aang began to slow down to the point where he was pretty far behind them.

"Aang come on. We need to get up there, hurry up." Leo told him.

"I can't." Aang said as he tried to climb up a rock, holding a very small flame. "If I walk too fast, my flame will go out."

"Your flame will go out because it is too small." Karai told him as he walked down towards him and helped him up the small climb. "Take some of my flame." She offered her torch.

"He doesn't have to." Zuko told him. "He can give it more juice."

"But what if I can't control it?" Aang nervously questioned.

"You _can_." Leo told him. "I know you Aang, you're much stronger than you give yourself credit for, you should have more faith in yourself."

"Leo's right, you're a talented kid." Zuko agreed.

"You may not be a god, but you _are_ strong. Use your will. You _are_ the greatest bender on this planet, I truly mean that." Karai put her faith in Aang.

This encouragement earned a smile from Aang as he climbed up and they continued to ascend the mountain.

* * *

It was late afternoon as the sun began to set. The group had made it up the mountain still carrying their torches and flames, though Aang's was still quite small. Once at the top they looked in surprise to see what appeared to be a large shrine. A large staircase led straight up to a long bridge that extended from one cave to another.

The Sun Warriors we're all present as well; most of them in a circle. The Sun Chief and the previous Sun Warrior who doubted them the previous night approached the group.

"Facing the judgment of the Firebending Masters may be very dangerous for all of you." The Sun Chief began. He looked towards Leo. "They have never seen anything like you before, so I cannot predict whatever reaction they may have." He turned to Zuko. "You're ancestors are directly responsible for the dragons' disappearance." Zuko looked away in shame. "The Masters might not be so happy to see you."

"I know I wouldn't be." The snarky Sun Warrior added.

The Sun Chief looked towards Karai. "And I am more than aware of the actions this Foot Clan has taken upon this world. And seeing as how you we're a part of that, young lady, the Masters may also be displeased at you as well." Karai had an understanding look on her face.

"But once they find out I'm the Avatar…" Aang tried.

"Have you forgotten that you vanished? Allowing the Fire Nation to wreak havoc on the world?" The Sun Chief reminded. "The decline of the dragons is your burden to!" Aang looked in a mixture of nervousness and fear.

The Sun Chief placed his staff in the ground, facing up as they began the ritual with the two Sun Warriors by his side. He took a piece from Zuko and Aang's flames and presented it to the Sun Warriors on each of his sides. The flames we're passed to each of the Sun Warriors circled around the shrine as they made circles of fire to prepare for the ritual.

Aang looked to Zuko, Leo, and Karai. "Guys, we can turn back right now. We already learned more about fire than we'd hoped." He gave a nervous/hopeful smile

"No. Once we start something, we have to finish it." Leo told him, resulting in Aang's smile vanishing.

"We have to see this thing through. You need to learn Firebending, Aang. We have to face these Masters." Karai added.

"But what if they judged us and attack us?" Aang asked nervously.

"Well you're the Avatar, I'm the Fire Prince, Karai was trained by the Shredder, and Leo here is about the best swordsman I've ever seen." Zuko said as he held one of his swords and had a confident smile. "Four against two. I think we can take these guys in a fight whoever they are."

"But we cannot strike first, only if they attack." Karai advised, to which Leo nodded in agreement. Aang nodded to, knowing they we're right, they had to see this thigh through.

Everything was ready; the four of them faced the Sun Warriors. "We're ready! Do it!" Leo told them.

"Chanters!" The Sun Chief exclaimed. This resulted in the male Sun Warriors not carrying the flames to pound the drums, while female Sun Warriors bowed repeatedly.

As this happened; Aang, Zuko, Leo, and Karai all walked towards the large staircase. They stopped and allowed the Sun Chief and his two Sun Warriors to clear a path for them. The four of them took the moment to look each other somewhat nervously. They each took a deep breath, even Karai was a bit nervous herself, as they began to ascend the stairs with their respective flames or torches.

As the chanters continued to pound the drums the Avatar, Ninja Turtle, Kunoichi, and Fire Prince continued to proceed up the stairs; Karai could tell Aang was nervous so she put a comforting hand on his shoulder, he gave a slight smile before continuing up. It took a little bit, but all four had made it to the top to the platform in-between the bridges that led to each cave. At their height, it looked as though they we're on equal elevation with the sun itself.

"Those who wish to meet the masters Ran and Shaw must now present their fire!" A Sun Warrior spoke through a horn so they could hear them from their elevation.

Aang and Leo faced one cave and bowed as they presented their flames; while Karai and Zuko faced the opposite cave and did the same. Leo and Karai held out their torches while Zuko and Aang showed their fires.

"Sound the call!" The Sun Chief ordered.

A Sun Warrior on a ridge close by blew a very loud call through a very large horn. The mountains began to shake as though something was moving inside of them. Leo looked to his torch and felt a wind was pulling the flame from his torch directly into the cave. Karai saw the same thing happen with her torch.

Aang's nervousness increased greatly. "What's happening?" He looked towards Zuko and Karai but quickly turned back to the cave.

"Uh… Aang…." Leo got his attention and pointed to his hands. Aang looked in shock at his flame being gone.

"Zuko, Karai, my flame went out." Aang whispered to them.

"My flame is gone to." Karai said.

"Well Zuko, give me one of yours." Aang tried to reach for Zuko's flame but he held him back.

"No, just make your own."

"I can't!"

Leo and Karai tried to pull them apart. "Guys this is not helping." Leo tried.

"Stop cheating off me!" Zuko bickered.

"Quit being stingy!" Aang bickered back.

"Enough!" Karai tried to pull them apart. "We can't do this right now!"

The Sun Warriors below looked towards each other in uncertainty as they heard the bickering from down below. As this struggle continued, Zuko's flame went out as well, leaving them all with no fire at all. All four slowly looked towards each other nervously.

Both caves shook violently as something big was moving inside them, and moving closer to them.

"Oh shell." Leo, Aang, Zuko, even Karai uttered at the same time as they looked towards one cave.

Suddenly, a massive red dragon shot out from the cave. It roared as it flew and began to circle the platform, and the group on it. Aang and Leo both looked in surprise, Zuko's eyes and mouth went agape at the sight of the dragon, and even Karai was caught completely off guard. They looked towards the other cave where a massive blue dragon shot out as well and followed in the same pattern as the red one and began to circle the platform.

"Dragons… I'm actually seeing real life dragons…." Leo breathed in utter amazement.

"I… Never once in my life… did I ever imagine I would see a real dragon." Karai's voice was also laced with amazement, as though she had come face-to-face with a deity.

"These are the masters." Zuko breathed as well.

"Still think we can take them?" Aang nervously whispered to Zuko.

"Shh! I never said that!" Zuko quickly replied.

Down below all the Sun Warriors bowed before the presence of the Dragon Masters Ran and Shaw.

"Oh here it comes. Any minute now, dinner for the masters."

"Quiet Hum Dao!" The Sun Chief scolded.

"What? Everyone's thinking it!"

Up above; Ran and Shaw both continued to circle the four warriors as they formed a four way back-to-back-to-back-to-back fomration. Leo saw that all they we're doing were circling.

"What are they doing? Are they waiting for us to do something?"

Karai saw how they we're flying. "There's a pattern. It looks almost like…" Her memory clicked to where she remembered the statues they had found earlier. Aang quickly realized it as well as he and Karai looked to each other.

"Guys, I think they want us to do the Dragon Dance with them." Aang whispered.

"What?" Zuko questioned.

"Are you sure, Aang?" Leo questioned as well.

"What in the world about this situation makes you think they want us to dance?!" Zuko whispered/exclaimed.

"Their flight path follows a similar pattern to those of the statues performing the technique." Karai explained. "Leonardo, we should perform it as well. We may not be Firebenders, but I think they want us to."

"Besides, I think they want us to do something anyway, lets just try it." Aang offered.

Zuko looked skeptical, but Leo spoke to him. "Its not like we have any better ideas, Zuko."

"Fine." Zuko grunted.

The four of them began to perform the dance. Aang and Zuko had done it so it was fresh in their memory; Leo and Karai though may not have done it, but they have seen the statues and remembered the stances. Aang and Leo both followed one path with the blue dragon flying in a pattern that seemed to fit with their dance. Zuko and Karai followed a path of their own with the red dragon flying in a pattern to fit their movements as well.

The four had finished their dance. Aang and Zuko's fists made contact as Leo and Karai's did the same. The dragons had stopped moving and we're facing the four of them.

"Judgment time." The Sun Chief announced.

Leo and Zuko faced the blue dragon as Aang and Karai faced the red dragon. While Leo, Karai, and Zuko we're both silent, Aang was shivering and ready to scream as these dragons we're _way_ too close for comfort.

The dragons perched themselves on both sides of the platform. They opened their mouths upward and both shot out their fire breaths at them. Karai, Aang, Zuko, and Leo all screamed as the flames circled them, but the flames didn't touch them.

Both Ran and Shaw's fires combined in a mighty and beautiful vortex of multi-colored flame. Fires that we're red, orange, blue, green, yellow, and even purple we're all present as Leo, Karai, Aang, and Zuko looked on in amazement. Karai fell to her knees unable to comprehend the amazement and beauty of this fire. The flames reflected in Aang and Leo's eyes as well. Zuko saw the flames and he knew.

"I understand."

It was true, he did understand. They all did. Leo and Karai may not have been Firebenders, but they understood the message.

Once it was done, both dragons coiled and flew upwards before turning in the air and flying directly into their caves. The ritual was complete. Hum Dao looked away in a scowl as the Sun Warriors stood up and ceased their flames.

Leo, Karai, Aang, and Zuko began to walk down, their minds still processing what they just witnessed.

"Dragons we're only myths in our world." Karai began. "So to actually see a real one I… I don't know what to say."

"But their fire was beautiful." Zuko said. "I saw so many colors, colors I never imagined."

"It was like some kind of fire-rainbow." Leo agreed. "Their colors, the different flames move fluently together. Almost like some kind of art form."

"It was Firebending harmony." Aang agreed as well as the four of them reached the bottom of the steps to face the Sun Chief.

"Yes, they judged you, and gave you visions of the meaning of Firebending." The Sun Chief said.

"It was truly incredible." Karai said. "Never before have I seen anything like that."

"I still can't believe there are actual living dragons. My uncle Iroh said he faced the last dragon and killed it." Zuko said.

"So your uncle lied then." Leo replied.

"Actually, it wasn't a total lie." The Sun Chief revealed. "Iroh was the last outsider to face the masters, they deemed him worthy and passed the secret onto him as well."

Zuko's eyes widened in both surprise and amazement. "He must have lied to protect them, so that no one else would hunt them."

"Your uncle truly is an amazing man Zuko." Karai complemented.

Aang began to speak. "All this time, I thought Firebending was destruction. Since Katara, I've been too afraid and hesitant. But now I know what it really is, it's energy and life."

"Told you." Leo told Aang with a smirk. "Fire is an element that brings warmth and light."

"Yes, its like the sun." Karai agreed. "The sun is what provides life to the world, it sustains us all."

"Its like there's a sun inside all of us!" Zuko exclaimed almost excitedly. "Do you guys realize this?!" He excitedly exclaimed the Sun Chief.

The Sun Chief had a humorous smile on his face. "Well our civilization _is_ called the Sun Warriors, so yeah."

"That's why my Firebending was so weak before." Zuko realized as he turned to Aang, with Karai and Zuko listening. "Because for so many years, hunting you was my drive, it was my purpose. So when I joined you, I lost sight of my inner fire."

"I imagine though you have a new drive now, don't you?" Leo asked.

"Yes I do, we both do." Zuko said referring to him and Karai.

"Indeed." Karai agreed. "We have to help you defeat the Shredder and restore balance to this war-torn world."

Zuko shot two fire-fists, as his Firebending was back and better than ever. Aang followed suit as well with a palm-thrust, shooting out fire. He was a true Firebender now, Aang excitedly look to Leo who gave a smile and nod of approval.

The Sun Chief approached the celebrity group of four. "Now that you have learned the secrets and you know about our tribe's existence, we have no choice but to imprison you here forever!" Aang and Zuko both looked shocked while Leo and Karai both unsheathed their swords.

A humorous smile formed on the Sun Chief's face. "Just kidding." Everyone calmed down. "But seriously, don't tell anyone."

* * *

 _A few moments later_

It was late at night as Aang flew Appa, with Leo, Karai, and Zuko riding in the saddle again towards the Western Air Temple. Despite it being late, Aang couldn't sleep because he was so excited.

"Oh wow! That was amazing!" Aang exclaimed. "I can't believe I was _that_ close to a dragon!"

Leo smiled in amusement. "You thinking what I'm thinking Aang?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking about telling everyone!"

Leo shook his head. "I was thinking that Mikey is gonna flip out when he hears this."

"Oh yeah, probably." Aang agreed.

Zuko had a humorous smile on his face, Karai did as well, but she felt a vibrate on her side. She pulled out a small phone-like device; everyone was looking towards her. "One moment." She said to them as she opened it.

"Yes, Dr. Chaplin?" Karai listened to what he said on the other side. "Are you certain? Yes. Yes. All right. Thank you. Be careful." She hung up.

"Karai, who was that?" Leo asked, Aang looked back as well.

Karai spoke. "Zuko and I aren't the only ones who have defected from the Foot."

"Wait, someone else is on your side?" Aang questioned.

"Yeah, a scientist named Chaplin." Zuko answered. "We made contact with him just before the Day of Black Sun."

"Chaplin? I think I've heard that name before." Leo recalled.

"Yes, he is a Foot scientist and former protégée of Dr. Stockman." Karai informed.

"And you're sure he's on our side?" Leo asked.

"Yeah." Zuko confirmed. "We have inside Shredder's operation. He makes contact with us whenever something goes up. That way we're one step ahead of Shredder."

"Good idea." Leo agreed.

"But is it okay for him to do that?" Aang asked with concern. "We all know what Shredder is like, if he finds out…"

"He wont'." Karai assured. "Chaplin is careful. He'll make sure his motives are well hidden."

"So, what did he say?" Zuko asked Karai.

"He says that Shredder's plans are moving further up. So we need to be ready."

"We will be. I know it." Leo said with every bit of confidence in his voice.

* * *

 _The Next Morning_

Aang, Zuko, Leo, and Karai had arrived back at the Western Air Temple and had told the full story of the Sun Warrior's village, which included meeting the dragons, to their friends. Leo's prediction had came true, Mikey was flipping out.

"DRAGONS?!" Mikey excitedly yelled like a fanboy. "YOU SAW REAL LIFE DRAGONS! THAT IS SO COOL! SOKKA WAS WRONG! FIRE IS AN _AWESOME_ ELEMENT! I WANT TO BE A FIREBENDER TO! THAT IS SO….!"

"We get it Mikey!" Leo stopped him as he covered his younger brother's mouth. "Yeah we get it. And you're right. It was pretty cool."

"I know fire can come in multiple colors…" Don began. "But its either through a different temperature or through burning a specific chemical. So for a living creature to provide all those colors on its own…" A smile formed on his face. "It's amazing!"

"That really is amazing!" April agreed. "To actually see a real life dragon! The only ones I've seen we're in movies and children's books."

"You should actually seeing them, it is a completely different experience." Karai said.

"So Leo bro, when do we get to meet the dragon?" Raph asked.

"That may be a problem." Leo told him.

"Yeah the thing is we can't tell anyone about the Sun Warriors or the Dragons." Aang said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"But you guys literally just told us." Toph reminded.

"Yeah." Zuko reluctantly said. "You guys can't tell anyone!"

"Our lips are sealed." April promised.

"So, did you guys pick up any fancy Firebending?" Sokka asked.

"You bet we did!" Aang excitedly beamed. "Zuko! Lets show them!" Aang and Zuko both got into the Dragon Dance stances and began to perform their Firebending techniques; most of the group, even Raph, looked impressed, especially since Aang was finally learning to Firebend. The only one who wasn't impressed was Katara, with a dark look still in her eyes, something Leo noticed.

"With this technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I will be unstoppable!" Aang and Zuko finished the Dancing Dragons by thrusting their fists together. This resulted in everyone clapping.

"Yeah that's a great dance you two learned there." Sokka began to tease.

"It's not a dance, it's a Firebending form." Zuko told him.

Sokka's cocky smile still continued. "We'll just tap-dance our way to victory over the Shredder."

Zuko was about to respond harshly, but Raph held his hand up. "Zuko, first rule of our group: ignore Sokka. Trust me, you're life will be much easier."

"Hey!" Sokka protested, resulting in laughs from Don, Mikey, April, and Toph.

Raph soon remembered his talk with Toph a few days ago. He sighed stood up and slowly walked to Zuko. "And hey, about all the crap I said to you before, about your mom and all that… I shouldn't have said that. It wasn't cool." Leo and Aang looked in somewhat surprise, as did most of the group, save for Toph who merely smiled.

"I'm not really too good at apologizing…" Raph continued. "But… I guess I was wrong about you." Zuko was mildly surprised as Raph spoke. "What you did back in Ba-Sing-Se, it wasn't your fault, Shredder made you do all that. Plus what you just did with those dragons, I think it's pretty cool." Raph held out his hand. "So, we good?"

Zuko smiled before he shook Raph's hand. "We're good." Raph smirked as he quickly pulled Zuko in closer and punched his gut with his free hand. "Oops, my hand slipped." He chuckled.

Zuko grunted before he chuckled himself. "Right." He mimicked Raph's actions and punched him in the gut with his free hand to. "Hey, my hand slipped to." Both chuckled.

Leo, Aang, and even Karai gave amused smiles; as did most of the group. "Aw look at them, they're bonding." Mikey joked as most of the group laughed.

The only one who didn't laugh was Katara as she stood up and began to walk away from the group. Most of them looked in her direction as she walked into an area filled with dark shadows. Leo could tell something was off about her so he had to keep an eye on her from this point forward. He made a mental note as she kept walking deeper into the darkness.

 **Done.**

 **Wow, this chapter was A LOT longer than I thought it would be. It has got to be the BIGGEST chapter I have ever written. A lot of stuff has now happened; both good and bad.**

 **On the good side: Aang is finally learning Firebending, Raph and Zuko seem to be getting along well now (I know it seems quick for Raph, but he's a bit of a hothead himself like Zuko so it's only natural they'd bond. But he'll still be iffy about Karai), and even better, Dr. Chaplin is actually a double agent working for Karai and Zuko.**

 **On the bad side: The Shredder has his forces gathering arms as he has built new more destructive weapons (for those mech suits see the TMNT episode 'Scion of the Shredder'), he is performing genetic experiments on benders, and Hama now has a new younger body and is working with Azula (see the TMNT episode 'Insane in the Membrane'). And what could be really bad, the Foot Mystics are using the image of Katara's mother to manipulate her.**

 **What will happen next? Find out next time on Worlds Collide!**


	27. The Boiling Rock Part 1

**Hey everyone. I'm sorry for the long wait, I've had other stories to deal with and update besides this. I am grateful for everyone's support of my story, but I have to go at a pace where I don't feel rushed, which is how I sometimes make mistakes with a chapter.**

 **Anyway, lets get started on this next chapter. Thank you for your patience. I own neither Ninja Turtles nor Avatar**

 **The Boiling Rock Part 1**

It was evening in the Western Air Temple as Karai was practicing her swordsman ship on a balcony. Zuko was somewhere else giving Aang his Firebending lessons, so Karai decided to refine her own skills. She had just finished a slice when she heard a familiar voice speak to her.

"You think you're pretty good, don't you?"

Karai turned to see Katara walking onto the balcony with a scowl on her face. Karai chose not to react to Katara's snarky attitude.

"I do my best."

"Right, your best." Katara said sarcastically. "But how are you in a real fight?"

Karai raised an eyebrow slightly. "Why do you ask?"

"Well since you and Zuko made yourselves, part of the team…" Katara said that last part with distain in her voice. "You're going to have to contribute."

"I have every intention of doing so." Karai replied.

"Really? Then how about a little rematch?" Katara suggested.

"What do you mean by 'rematch'?" Karai questioned.

"You know, about that mess your father made in Ba-Sing-Se?" Katara reminded in anger.

Karai recalled how she was the one who primarily fought Katara in the Earth Kingdom capital.

"If that is what this is about, I apologize. I know of the sins I have committed and I wish to atone for them."

"Well let's see if you're really worthy of it." Katara challenged as she bent water out of her satchels and covered her arms in water tentacles before thrusting at Karai.

Acting quickly, Karai unsheathed both her katanas and blocked the attacks. Katara was on the offensive as she froze her right tentacle and sent multiple ice-shards at Karai, who tried to block by slashing them away, but they still forced her back to the wall. Katara lashed with her left tentacle as Karai jumped over her and landed behind Katara, who swept her legs, to knock Karai off her feet.

Karai looked shocked as Katara raised her water tentacle with an ice-tip at the end, the young Waterbender having a dark look in her eyes, but before she could deliver any kind of strike…

 ***Slash***

Leo had arrived just in time to slice the water tentacle before pushing Katara back with a palm-thrust.

"Katara, have you lost your mind?!" Leo angrily questioned.

The Waterbender got back up as she dusted herself off. "I was just sparing with her Leo, don't make a mountain out of a molehill."

"I saw what you tried to do, that was not sparing." Leo replied. "If you have something to say, say it now!"

Katara only scowled before walking away. Leo gave a contentful sigh as he sheathed his sword and offered a hand to help Karai up, which she took.

"You okay?" He asked Karai.

"I am fine." She replied. "But if I did something to upset…"

"I don't think its you." Leo told her. "It's something else. Something has gotten to Katara, and I have a feeling that she will need all our help, before she does something she'll regret."

* * *

 _Later that night_

Dinner was being prepared for the whole group as Aang, Leo, Toph, Raph, Mikey, Sokka, Don, April, Teo, the Duke, Haru, and Karai sat down near a fire. Katara was sitting near a pillar, further away from the group, which Aang had noticed. Leo had not spoken to anyone about the incident with Karai a few hours ago, as he didn't want to get anyone too riled up, considering they've had bigger issues to worry about.

Zuko was preparing tea as he filled a large portion of cups. "No one can make tea like Uncle, but hopefully I've learned a thing or two." He was trying to be a bit more open with the group.

"Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?"

"Sure" Leo said.

"I like jokes." Aang said as well.

"Go for it." Don agreed.

"Why not?" Raph conceded.

"Who doesn't love a good joke?" Mikey said.

"Bring it." Toph said enthusiastically.

Zuko was handing teacups to everyone, starting with Karai, then April, then Haru and the Duke. "Well, I can't remember how it starts, but the punch line is 'leaf me alone, I'm bushed'."

Everyone gave him a deadpanned expression. "I don't get it." Mikey said.

Zuko looked away slightly. "Well, its funnier when Uncle tells it."

"Probably because he remembers the whole thing." April joked as Zuko handed teacups to Leo and Aang. Everyone gave a laugh as a result; even Zuko and Karai had humorous smiles. The only one who didn't even crack a smile was Katara as she sat in her lonely spot with a scowl still present.

Zuko walked over to where Katara was, she took a teacup without even paying a glance in his direction. He chose not to respond as he walked away.

"It's nice to get a chance to relax a little, it hardly ever happens." Toph pointed out.

"Ain't that the truth." Raph said in agreement as Zuko handed teacups to him, Toph, and Teo.

He walked over and did the same for Don, then Mikey, and then walked over to where Sokka was sitting as he poked a stick in the ground.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Sokka asked as he walked away from the group, Zuko seemed a bit confused but followed Sokka anyway. Karai looked in the direction the two walked toward and had a curious look on her face.

Sokka had led Zuko close to where Appa was resting. "So what's up?" Zuko asked.

"If someone was captured by the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?" Sokka questioned.

"What do you mean, who was captured?" Zuko asked for clarification.

"When the Foot used the Invasion to take over the Fire Nation, some of our troops we're taken, I just wanna know where they might be." Sokka answered.

Zuko then understood, but he had a feeling Sokka wouldn't like the answer. "I can't tell you."

"What? Why not?" Sokka questioned.

"Trust me, knowing would just make you feel worse." Zuko turned around, but Sokka put a firm hand on his shoulder.

"It's my dad. He was captured to. I need to know what I put him through."

"It's not good Sokka." Zuko told him, glancing back.

"Please." Sokka pleaded.

Zuko sighed. "My guess is, they we're taken to the Boiling Rock."

"What's that?" Sokka asked.

"The highest security prison in the Fire Nation." Zuko answered, causing Sokka's eyes and mouth to widen. "It's on an island in the middle of a boiling lake. It's the most inescapable prison on the planet, so it's highly likely the Foot are using it for the same purpose."

Sokka crossed his arms, turning around with a pondering look on his face. "So where is this place?"

Zuko was slightly surprised by that question. "Why do you need to know? What are you planning?"

Sokka was surprised Zuko caught on quickly. "Nothing." He noticed Zuko's suspicions look didn't waver. "Boy you're so paranoid."

Zuko still had the same suspicious look as he answered. "It's in the middle of a volcano between here and the Fire Nation. You guys actually flew right past it on the way here."

"Thanks Zuko." Sokka gave a fake yawn. "Just knowing makes me feel better."

Zuko didn't buy it for a second. "Yeah, I'm sure it does."

The two walked back to the main group. Zuko sat down next to Karai and spoke in a whisper. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough." Karai whispered. "He's probably going to do something very rash."

"I think the word 'stupid' fits better." Zuko whispered back.

No one heard what Karai and Zuko we're talking about as Sokka sat down next to Don. "So, what did you and Zuko talk about?" The purple-clad Turtle asked him.

"Nothing, just guy stuff." Sokka lied.

Don raised an eyebrow. "Sure, alright."

Mikey, who sat next to Don, poked his shoulder and began to whisper. "Yeah, even _I_ know that's a lie."

"Yeah." Don whispered. "Lets stay up a little bit longer and see what he's up to."

* * *

 _A few hours later_

It was very early in the morning, so early in fact that the sun had not yet risen. Most of the group was all asleep as Sokka, the only one awake, tiptoed across the courtyard carrying a bag of supplies and his space sword. He tiptoed over Aang, his sister, and Toph, he made sure to be _extra_ quiet when he snuck past Leo.

Sokka gave a relieved sigh when he past Leo, but before he completed his step, he stopped so that he wouldn't accidentally step on the sleeping Momo. After stepping over him, he got to Appa, whom he shushed not to wake anyone up. As Sokka climbed onto the saddle, he saw both Zuko and Karai waiting for him inside.

"Not up to anything huh?" Zuko questioned.

Sokka yelped as he accidentally fell back and landed on the ground. Karai and Zuko looked down to see Sokka get up.

"Fine, you guys caught me." Sokka relented. "I'm gonna rescue my dad. You two happy now?"

"I'm rarely happy." Karai replied.

"Yep, figured you would do something like this."

The three looked towards a pillar to see it was Don who was speaking, with Mikey standing next to him.

"Don?! Mikey?!" Sokka questioned, but was quiet enough not to wake anyone else.

"Nice to see you to Sokka." Mikey said.

"How did you…?" Sokka began.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out." Don replied. "You're a pretty terrible actor, and a bad liar."

Sokka groaned before he gathered his stuff back up. "Look, I have to do this, okay? The invasion-plan was _my_ idea, it was _my_ decision to stay when things we're going wrong."

"What happened at the invasion was not your doing." Karai told him as she and Zuko got off Appa. "The Shredder had everything planned out, it was inevitable."

"You've never exactly made the best decisions Sokka." Mikey told him. "And coming from me that says a lot, but a really stupid idea is not telling anyone! We could all go!"

"Yeah, how do you think we feel?" Don added. "Master Splinter was captured to, and so we're many of our friends!"

"It's still my mistake." Sokka insisted. "And my job to fix it. I have to regain my honor, you guys can't stop me."

"Who said we we're trying to stop you?" Don questioned with a grin. "We're going with you."

"All of us." Karai insisted. "We will have better chances if there are more of us on this mission."

Sokka was a bit surprised to say the least. "Plus I know a thing or two about trying to regain your honor." Zuko said, speaking from experience.

Sokka regained his composure. "No, I have to do this alone." He said as he began to climb back onto Appa.

"You need us Sokka." Mikey told him. "This the Foot we're dealing with, not the Fire Nation."

"Yeah, having three ninjas and a master Firebender on your side might be a good idea if and when things go wrong here." Don said.

Sokka tried not to listen as he climbed up on Appa, but Karai had something else to say. "Taking a bison would be a mistake." Karai said. "The Foot are instructed to shoot it down on sight."

"And last time I checked, prisons don't have bison daycares." Zuko added.

Sokka sighed as he let this all sink in. Deep down he knew they we're right. He couldn't treat the Foot the same as he did the Fire Nation as they we're _way_ more dangerous. He needed help, so he conceded as he turned around and got off.

"We'll take my war balloon." Zuko said as he led the group to his war balloon.

* * *

 _Morning_

The sun had risen in the courtyard of the Western Air Temple as most of the group had woken up. The Duke had walked up to Appa to feed him a bundle of hay, which the Sky-Bison gratefully accepted.

Leo, April, Raph, Toph, and Aang noticed a piece of paper that the sleeping Momo was holding onto as the red-haired woman took it.

"What does it say?" Toph asked.

April began to read it aloud. "'Need meat. Gone fishing. Back in a few days. Sokka, Zuko, Don, Mikey, and Karai.'"

"Seems like a lot of people for just a fishing trip." Raph said as Aang yawned before he walked away to get some sleep.

"Well since both the Foot _and_ Fire Nation are out for our blood, it makes sense to me." Leo said.

"There's more messages on this note." April began to read them as Aang lied down to get some sleep but he still heard it. "'Avatar Aang, I highly suggest you get used to the feel of the Sword of Tengu, I truly believe that you are the one who is meant to wield it. Karai.'"

"And the other message?" Toph asked.

"Just a second." April read that. "Aang, don't forget to practice your Firebending while I'm gone. Do twenty sets of Fire-Fists and ten Hot-Squats every time you hear a badger-frog crock, Zuko."

Less than a second later, a badger-frog gave a croak causing Aang to groan in annoyance. "Nobody else has homework." He got up and proceeded to do his set of Hot-Squats.

"You really think they're on a fishing trip?" Toph questioned.

"Its either that, or they're about to do something _really_ stupid." Raph commented.

"Well Zuko and Karai are with them, so they should be good." April guessed.

"Yeah I…" Leo looked around. "Hey, where's Katara?"

Everyone else looked around a bit and saw that she wasn't anywhere in sight. This troubled Leo a bit.

* * *

 _Katara's room_

She sat on her bed as she once again faced the transparent image of her 'mother' that came from a water bowl.

"You just went out and attacked her?" 'Kya' questioned, referring to the 'sparring session' with Karai the previous afternoon. "Without any warning or provocation?"

"I know it sounds like a low move Mom, but…" Katara began.

"No, no, you did good Katara." 'Kya' told her as she had a smile. "That was a very smart move. Had the Turtle not intervened, I'm sure you would have finished her off."

Katara looked a bit surprised. "Wait… did you think I would…." She stood up. "I only said I would do that to her or Zuko if they made a move first!"

"But wouldn't it make more sense to eliminate the threat before they do any real damage?" 'Kya' questioned.

Katara thought for a moment. "Well that does make sense but…"

"You are concerned of what your friends might think, aren't you?" 'Kya' asked.

Katara sighed as she realized that was the answer. "I just don't understand how they can just accept them after everything they've done."

"They don't trust you Katara, none of them do." 'Kya' said. This surprised Katara more than ever. "They see your power, you're potential to be the greatest Waterbender on the planet and they fear you."

"That can't be right." Katara said as she faced her 'mother'. "Mom we've all been through so much together! I can't just…"

She stopped speaking when her 'mother' placed her hand on Katara's cheek. "Katara, I know what it is that truly troubles you. Listen to me." As 'Kya' spoke, she looked into Katara's eyes at it seemed a hypnotic stare was being placed on her. "The world is a dark, cruel, place. Humans are a very… selfish species. People say they are your friends, but really they are using you for their own ends." This sunk deeper into Katara's mind, just as 'Kya' wanted.

"When all is set and done, the only one you can truly count on is yourself." 'Kya' continued. "You do everything your heart tells you, even if those actions are considered despicable by others. Only you decide what is right, no one else."

She let go as she began to sink back into the water. "I have to go now, my dear daughter. We'll see each other again, but remember, do not ever doubt your instincts, no matter what they say."

'Kya' vanished back into the water as a red glimmer of light flashed in Katara's eyes. Those words echoed in her mind as her dark look became even darker than before. "I can't trust anyone."

* * *

 _Meanwhile_

Zuko's war-balloon flew through a field of clouds in the sky, its passengers being Zuko himself, Sokka, Don, Karai, and Mikey. Zuko was providing flames into the engine to keep the balloon going. To say it was awkward would be an understatement. No one said anything since they went into the air.

Sokka looked up into the sky. "Pretty clouds."

"Yeah… fluffy." Zuko said.

"They're all mostly cumulous clouds so there's little chance for a storm." Don observed.

"That's good." Karai replied.

It was another second of awkward silence, which Mikey broke as he began to whistle a certain toon, which happened to be a theme song from a certain 80s cartoon.

"What?" Zuko asked.

"Oh, it's just a thing from a show I like." Mikey said.

More awkward silence, which Sokka broke this time. "You know, a friend of mine actually designed these war balloons."

"Oh, is that so?" Karai asked.

"Yep." Sokka replied. "A balloon. But for war."

Zuko had a contentful look on his face. "Well, if there was one thing my dad was ever good at it was war."

Don noticed the tone in Zuko's voice. "You really hated your dad, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Zuko replied. "I still can't believe I actually tried to impress him all these years!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Don told Zuko. "He was still your dad. As messed up as it sounds, that's typically what kids do with their parents, try and impress them."

"Yeah, and besides you got some very good friends now." Mikey added. "Its what friends are for, to make up for the crappy family you got stuck with."

Mikey meant it as a joke, but Zuko still took it personally. "Hey hold on, not everyone in my family was like that!"

"We know, we know, you've changed." Sokka said with no small amount of sardonic humor. "Both of you."

"He was speaking of his uncle, Iroh." Karai corrected.

Zuko looked down in partial shame. "He's the one who's been a real father to me. And I really let him down."

"We never really knew your uncle." Don said. "We only met him that one time in Ba-Sing-Se. What's he like?"

Zuko had a small smile. "Well he's definitely something, that's for sure. He's about the friendliest old man you'll ever meet. And he makes the best tea."

"I've met him myself." Karai added. "Iroh is a good man. He used to be one of the Fire Nation's most fierce generals, they called him the Dragon of the West."

"Ooooh, 'Dragon of the West'." Mikey said with a smile. "Now that sounds like a badass name!"

"Yeah." Sokka seemed in agreement until he noticed something. "You said he 'used to be', what happened?"

"His son, my cousin, Lu Ten died in battle." Zuko revealed, surprising Mikey, Don, and Sokka.

"Oh geeze… that's… I don't know what to say." Mikey said.

"I'm really sorry." Don said sincerely.

"After that, he left the battle and went home." Zuko said.

Karai had her fists clenched in contempt. "But the very minute he got home, his own brother, and all the rest of the Fire Nation war council dragged him down, they made a laughing stock out of him, just because he lost his own son."

"Wow, what a bunch of pricks." Mikey said with contempt.

"You said it." Sokka said in agreement.

"Well, it's still good to know there's still good in the Fire Nation, despite Ozai trying to drive it all out." Don said. "And I'm not just talking about your uncle."

Zuko had a small smile. "Thanks."

"And hey, Karai." Sokka got her attention. "Listen, I never did get a chance to thank you. For, you know, helping us. You're all right. I mean, yeah your dad, the Shredder, he's evil, but your good."

"Thank you Sokka." Karai thanked with a smile.

"Yeah, both of you leaving your homes to come help us, that must have been real hard." Don guessed.

"It wasn't that hard." Zuko replied.

"Really?" Sokka questioned. "You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about?"

"Well I did have a girlfriend, Mai." Zuko said.

"You mean that gloomy girl with the knives?" Don asked with a grin.

"Yeah." Zuko replied.

"What about that other girl? Mikey asked. "That one in pink who always smiles, and seems double-jointed?"

"Ty-Lee." Karai answered. "She's a good person. And was honestly, the first real friend I've ever had besides Zuko."

"Well she does come off as the friendly-type." Mikey said. "Pretty cute to." He said to himself.

"So, if you liked them so much, why didn't you bring them with you?" Don asked. "I'm sure they're no fans of Shredder."

"It's true, they're not." Zuko replied. "But thanks to the Foot, everyone in the Fire Nation think Karai and I are traitors, we couldn't drag them into it."

"Yes, they're safer where they are." Karai agreed.

"But don't you guys have an inside agent in the Foot?" Sokka asked.

"Dr. Chaplin, yes." Karai confirmed.

"So how'd you manage to convince him to help you?" Don asked.

Karai was about to answer, but Zuko beat her to it, with a bit of a mischievous grin. "Get this, he actually has a thing for Karai."

This resulted in Mikey, Don, and even Sokka laughing. "Seriously?" Sokka laughed.

"No joke." Zuko confirmed with a grin, while Karai's cheeks blushed a bit.

"Lucky you." Sokka said before his grin vanished. "My first girlfriend turned into the moon."

Laughs vanished. "That's rough buddy." Don patted Sokka's shoulder.

"But I guess it explains why you're so _loony_ all the time." Mikey joked. "Get it?" This resulted in Zuko slapping him upside the head. "Ow!"

* * *

 _The Western Air Temple_

Aang was alone in the courtyard as he shot out a few Fire-fists. It was his request to be alone as he practiced Firebending so that he wouldn't accidentally hurt anyone. They all seemed to have respected his wishes and let him do his work.

The young Avatar just finished this set of training as he whipped the sweat from his brow. He happened to glance in one direction as he set his eyes upon the Sword of Tengu that leaned against a pillar in a specialized sheath. As he looked at it, he remembered how Karai told him that she believed he was meant to wield it.

Aang slowly walked to the sword and got a good look at it. After what the Turtles told him of it, how it was Shredder's personal weapon used to conquer a country. Aang absolutely hated the idea of such a destructive weapon, but given his current situation with the Avatar State, maybe an extra power boost might not be such a bad idea.

"It shouldn't be too hard to use." Aang thought as he tried to reach for it, but stopped himself when he remembered how Zuko got his hands burnt from using it. To avoid that he quickly picked up the protective glove that was near it.

He put on the glove and picked up the Sword of Tengu before removing its sheath. "Huh, it's lighter than I thought." Aang felt a grip on the sword as it surged with power. The blue energy surged through the blade as Aang felt the power through the glove.

"Whoa. Now that's something else." Aang then remembered how he saw Leo and Sokka use their swords and he began to mimic the actions he saw. He swung the sword, it made a sound like that of a lightsaber as he swung it. Aang swung at a pillar and was surprised that he actually sliced through the pillar like it was tissue paper.

"Wow!" Aang said in amazement. "This is a really good sword." He said with an enthusiastic smile as he swung it more and more. He would say that he is practicing, but a closer look told the story that he was actually playing with it.

"You think you're tough Mr. Shredder?" Aang played. "Well get a load of this!" He swung the sword hard, however he did not expect a powerful blue energy wave to come from the sword. The force of it blew Aang back a bit, but the wave itself was far more powerful as it hit the ceiling and caused a large explosion that blew several rocks away and off the cliffside.

Aang's eyes completely widened at the sight of that.

"What the shell was that?!"

The Avatar turned and saw Leo running in. "Aang, what happened?!"

Aang tried to come up with an answer. "Well I…. I saw the Sword of Tengu and I just thought…."

"You we're playing with it, and it got out of control." Leo said with a deadpanned expression.

Aang sighed. "Yeah." He used Airbending to pull the sheath towards himself as he put the Sword of Tengu away.

Leo offered him a hand up, which he took. "Aang, that is not a toy. It's one most powerful weapons in my world, and honestly, _the_ most powerful weapon in _your_ world."

"I know, I know." Aang replied. "But it's just… I can't go into the Avatar State because of well…. You know. And Karai said that the sword would best be used in my hands so I thought, if I got a good grip of it, maybe the Sword of Tengu could make up for the Avatar State."

Leo sighed. "You're heart's in the right place Aang, and maybe you are the one who can best use that sword, but you can't be too dependent on it. You're not always gonna have it on you." Aang looked down as Leo put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find a way to solve the Avatar-State-problem. I promise."

"Can you promise to find a way that doesn't involve me letting go of Katara?" Aang asked.

"We'll find a way." Leo said. "And Katara is actually the reason I came here. We need to talk about her."

"What?" Aang asked. "Is she okay? Is she hurt?!"

"No, no. She's not hurt." Leo eased, to Aang's relief. "But I don't know if she's okay." This got Aang's attention. "You know how she's been acting, right? She's been distancing herself from everyone, holding herself up in her room, Toph even says she can hear her talking to herself."

"I have noticed she's been… acting weird." Aang said. "But… what could it be?"

"I think you know what it is." Leo said.

Aang looked to the blue-clad Turtle. "Zuko and Karai?" Leo nodded. "Well, I think I can see her acting like that towards them but…."

"Aang, she threatened to kill them."

Aang looked to Leo with wide eyes. "What?!"

"I'm serious. The day those two joined us, she threatened to end their lives if they even stepped out of line."

To say Aang was surprised would have been an understatement. "Why would… No… no she would… she wouldn't do anything like that! You know her, _I_ know her; Katara would never kill anyone!"

"There was an incident yesterday." Leo told Aang. "She attacked Karai."

"She did what?" Aang questioned.

"She attacked her right out of the blue." Leo said. "I saw the look in her eyes as she did. She claims it was just a sparring session, but it wasn't. It was an act of pure anger." Aang had to take this entire situation in. "She's letting her anger get the best of her and its controlling her actions."

Aang found it difficult to believe that someone so compassionate and kind as Katara could act like that. It was true that he has seen her become angry before, but making death threats and attacking someone without warning?

"Leo I… I just don't understand."

"That's why I'm telling you this." Leo told Aang. "I told Katara myself I would make sure she wouldn't do anything rash, but I may need your help to keep an eye on her. I care about Katara to, she's like a sister to me, and I'm worried she's going to do something she'll regret for the rest of her life."

Aang still had to let all of this sink in. He loved Katara and he didn't want her doing something that will hurt her either. He looked up to Leo. "Alright. We'll keep an eye on her."

"Okay. I'm sorry to tell you all this, but, it's for her own good." Leo agreed.

However, completely unbeknownst to either of them, the very same person they we're talking about was hiding behind a wall. Katara heard every word they said. A red look flashed in her eyes as her faced twisted into a scowl. Something came over her that made her feel like a knife was driven into her back. Her fists clenched as her anger began to spread and take over.

* * *

 _Later that night_

Zuko's war-balloon flew through the night sky as Zuko still maintained the fire in the engine. Karai kept her eyes trained in the west direction in case any Foot aircraft came by; Don did the same in the east direction. Mikey and Sokka had both fallen asleep and we're snoring quite loudly.

Zuko finished his work and went to the front. He saw something coming up. "There it is."

Sokka and Mikey woke up as Karai and Don joined them to see the small black island with a massive steam-cloud coming out of the center. That was their destination.

"That's the Boiling Rock?" Don asked.

"Yeah, that's it." Zuko confirmed.

"Is just me, or is everything Fire-Nation-related volcano based?" Mikey questioned. "First the Fire Lord's bunker was in a volcano, now this?"

"We get it Mikey." Don told him.

The War Balloon got closer to the island. "This is good. There is plenty of steam to conceal us. We should remain undetected if we are quiet." Karai stated

Zuko provided more flames into the engine so that the War Balloon would ascend slightly and enter the steam. However, just as they entered the steam, they slowly began to descend.

"Uh dudes, is it just me, or are we getting closer to the boiling water of death?" Mikey questioned, noticed how the balloon was getting lower.

"We're going down!" Zuko exclaimed. "The balloon's not working anymore!"

"It's the steam!" Don realized as Zuko desperately shot flames into the balloon itself. "The air outside is just as hot, if not hotter, than the inside of the balloon so we are loosing altitude."

"Well what do we do then?!" Karai questioned as they got lower and lower.

"I don't know, crash-land it?" Sokka guessed.

"Better than getting boiled alive!" Mikey stated as they we're less than an inch from the scolding hot water.

The balloon skidded across the boiling water, it splashed a bit causing some of it to hit Sokka's hand. Before he could scream, Don quickly covered his mouth so they wouldn't blow their cover. It skidded across a little bit more before it crashed onto the ground outside the prison walls, causing all five heroes to go flying out and landing hard on the ground.

They all got up and looked at the totaled war-balloon. "Well, any landing we can walk away from I guess." Don said for the sake of optimism.

"Yeah, but our ride out of here is totaled!" Mikey exclaimed.

"So how are we going to get off the island now?" Zuko asked.

"Well figure something out." Sokka replied. "I suspected it might be a one-way ticket." He said as he got up.

"You knew this was a possibility but still decided to go ahead anyway?" Karai questioned.

"My dad might be here! I had to come and see!" Sokka exclaimed as he began to pile up the debris of the War Balloon.

"How can you be this carless?!" Karai questioned, still keeping her voice down. "Entering one of the most secure prisons on this planet without even a plan?!"

"This is crazy Sokka, even for me!" Mikey agreed.

"Even if it is your dad or any of our friends, we don't leave things to chance! Especially when it involves the Foot!" Don agreed as well.

"Yeah my Uncle always said I never thought things through but this…" He grabbed his hair in frustration. "This is just crazy!"

"Hey!" Sokka lightly yelled in protest. "I never wanted any of you to come along in the first place! And for the record, I always think things through!"

"Since when?!" Mikey and Don questioned at the same time.

"Since forever!" Sokka argued. "But like you said, my plans don't work when dealing with the Foot so I'm just playing it by ear! So there!" He tried to push the debris but felt the heat travel from the boiling water, up the debris, to his hand. He winced as he pulled it back and used his foot to kick it into the lake.

"What are you doing?" Karai questioned.

"It doesn't work anyway." Sokka said as all five watched it sink into the lake. "And we don't want anyone to find it."

"Then we better hope this trip was worth it." Don said as they all looked towards the prison. "There's no turning back now."

* * *

 _The Next Day_

Our five heroes just came out of a closet wearing disguises. Sokka, Karai, and Zuko we're dressed in Fire Nation guard uniforms as Mikey and Don wore Foot uniforms to completely conceal their bodies.

"I hope these disguises work." Zuko said.

"We just need to lay low and find my dad as soon as possible." Sokka said.

"I'm a bit more worried that there are Foot uniforms here." Don said.

"Which means, some of the guards here are Foot Ninja." Mikey realized.

"Yes, our situation is more complicated than we imagined." Karai agreed.

"I think we're gonna need a code." Mikey suggested.

"A code?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah, so we can tell each other apart from the other guards and/or Foot Ninja." Mikey explained.

"Okay, what kind of code?" Don asked.

Mikey then began to think. "How about… Alvin's hot juice box?"

"What?" Karai questioned.

"That doesn't make any sense." Sokka said.

"Exactly." Mikey said. "It's so out of nowhere, they won't even suspect it's a code!"

"Hmm. In a weird way, that _does_ make sense." Don stated.

"We got company." Zuko said as they spotted a large group of guards, and a few Foot soldiers running down the hall adjacent from where they we're.

"Hey you!" One Foot Ninja told the disguised heroes. "There's a scuffle outside! Come on!"

They looked at each other before running out to join the large group of enemies as they left the interior of the prison to the courtyard outside. Once outside, they saw a large ring of prisoners circling around one large muscular prisoner and a Foot ninja. All the prisoners we're wearing simple, ragged, red clothes.

The guards and Foot soldiers, including the disguised heroes, made their way to the front of the ring to see the commotion.

"I didn't do anything!" The prisoner said. "I'm going back to my cell!"

He began to walk away, but the Foot soldier took out an electrical whip. "Stop right there, Chit-Sang!" He snapped his whip to get Chit-Sang's attention.

Zuko looked ready to jump in, but Karai grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "We cannot reveal ourselves yet." She whispered.

The Foot ninja glared at Chit-Sang. "I've had it with your unruly behavior!"

"What did I do?" Chit-Sang questioned.

"He wants to know what he did. Isn't that cute?" The Foot ninja questioned to the two ninja who we're really the disguised Don and Mikey. The ninja noticed they didn't answer before they he glared at them.

"Uh… very cute… sir." The disguised Don answered.

"Yeah, super cute." The disguised Mikey replied.

The Foot ninja turned back to Chit-Sang. "You didn't bow down when I walked by Chit-Sang."

"What? That's not a prison rule!" Chit-Sang protested.

"Its what you Fire Trash do when you're faced with your superiors!" The Foot ninja exclaimed as his face was less than an inch from Chit-Sang's. "So get on your knees, Trash!"

Chit-Sang did not like that 'Fire Trash' comment one bit. "Make me, you Foot scum bag!

Karai, Don, and Mikey winced at that, as the Foot do not tolerate insults at all. The moment carried thick tension as no one made a movement. Surprisingly, the ninja backed off and began to walk away. When he was a bit away, he took out his eclectic-whip before flailing it at Chit-Sang who ducked and shot a fireball at the ninja who jumped over.

As he landed he made a tisking noise. "Firebending is prohibited. You're going to the cooler." Chit-Sang glared but made no fuss about it. The ninja turned to the Foot-disguised-Don. "You! Help me take him in!"

Don turned to the rest of the group. "We'll meet at the top of the tower in one hour. Everyone split up and see what you can find."

Everyone nodded. "Remember the code." Mikey told them as he walked off in a separate direction while Don reluctantly helped the ninja deal with Chit-Sang.

* * *

Inside the prison, the ninja and disguised-Don brought Chit-Sang to a sealed container, which was completely insulated and cold on the inside, to the point that ice was forming. The ninja opened the door as he shoved Chit-Sang inside.

"You will be dealt with soon, Chit-Sang." The ninja said as he sealed him inside. He turned to the disguised-Don. "Can you believe this guy?"

"Firebenders, am I right?" Don acted out.

"Ugh, tell me about it. Trash, all of them." The ninja said in disgust.

* * *

Elsewhere in the prison, Mikey, still in his Foot-disguise, was walking down the hall as he tried to come up with his own plan. "Okay. All I have to do is check the cells to see if anyone I know is here. No sweat."

Mikey turned one corner to enter a wing where he saw a _large_ number of cells, extending three floors. He groaned. "Okay, maybe a little sweat."

* * *

Meanwhile, several Fire Nation guards we're relaxing and having lunch in the lounge. A table of three guards, two male and one female we're sharing a laugh when they noticed two guards still wearing their helmets, the disguised Zuko and Karai, both getting food.

"Hey newbies!" One male guard got their attention. "I know it's the rule to have your helmet on at all times, but this is the lounge, relax."

"But what if there's an incident?" The disguised-Zuko asked, going along with an act he and Karai made up. "If we're not prepared, someone could hit us on the head."

This resulted in the three guards laughing, as if he just told a joke. "Give it a week, they'll loosen up." The female guard said.

They both sat down. "Thank you for inviting us to join you." The disguised Karai said

"Can the newbies ask you veterans a few questions about the prison?" Zuko asked.

"No, you can't date the female guards." The female guard said, as if that's what he was going to ask.

"Trust me, you don't want to." The first male guard advised, resulting in the female guard throwing her cup at him.

The second male guard laughed. "Besides, it looks like he's already got a special lady." He said referring to the disguised-Karai.

"That's not what he wanted to ask you, I have some questions as well." The disguised Karai said. "How long have the Foot been here?"

"They just showed up about a week ago." The female guard said. "A piece of advice, stay away from them."

"Yeah those guys are more freaky than some of the nutjobs locked up here." The second male guard agreed.

"Thank you for the warning." Karai thanked.

"Speaking of 'locked up'." Zuko began. "The Boiling Rock holds the Fire Nation's most dangerous criminals right?" The guards nodded. "So what about war prisoners?"

* * *

Outside, the Gondola was arriving to the Boiling Rock and carried a very special individual inside. The door opened to reveal the warden. Two Foot Ninja greeted him with small bowing gestures. He nodded in acknowledgment.

* * *

The disguised-Sokka came up to where the disguised-Don was with the same Foot ninja guarding the cooler that Chit-Sang was in. Sokka passed by Don as he whispered, "Alvin's hot…"

"Juice box" Don whispered back.

"Guard, what are you doing here?" The Foot ninja questioned.

Sokka straightened up. "Nothing. Just passing through."

The disguised Don made a gesture for Sokka to look inside the window. Sokka did and saw Chit-Sang shivering in the cooler. Sokka took note of how insulated it was, which Don was trying to message him.

"Wow, it looks pretty cold in there." Sokka observed.

"Of course, that's why you guys call it the cooler." The ninja said. "Trash won't be Firebending in there."

"Uh, someone's coming." Don pointed out to three men coming their way.

The ninja saw who it was and sighed. "It's the warden, pretend that he's important." All three straightened up as the warden and his two guards walked to the cooler. The ninja opened it up so that the warden could see the person inside.

"So Chit-Sang, I heard you used Firebending to try and escape." The warden said to him. "You should know better."

Chit-Sang shivered from the cold. "I wasn't… trying… to escape."

"He's lying!" The ninja lied. "I saw it myself!"

The warden paid him an acknowledging glance before turning back to Chit-Sang. "No one has ever, _ever_ , escaped from here. I'd sooner jump into the boiling lake myself than let the record fall. Don't forget it. Now go back to your shivering." The cooler was closed once again.

The warden then walked away. Sokka looked towards Don, who nodded, before walking off in one direction.

The ninja groaned. "That warden is insufferable." He vented to the disguised Turtle. "The only reason we keep him around is to prevent a rebellion in this prison. Though I don't see the point, we'd slaughter all the Fire Trash if they dared stand against us."

The disguised-Don paid attention to what the ninja just said.

* * *

 _One Hour later; prison tower_

Two disguised Foot ninja, and three disguised guards met at the tower. "Alvin's hot juice box." The disguised Mikey said.

"Alvin's hot juice box." Everyone else reluctantly repeated. Zuko, Karai, and Sokka lifted their masks; while Mikey and Don lifted theirs as well to partially reveal their faces.

"So what did you all find?" Sokka asked.

"That there are _a lot_ of cells!" Mikey groaned. "Seriously, how many cells does a prison need?!"

"Did you find anyone from the invasion?" Don asked for clarification.

"Not yet." Mikey replied.

"Anything else?" Karai asked.

"Well I found out that the warden here is just a figure-head and he doesn't even knowing it." Don said. "The Foot are really the ones in charge here."

"Makes sense." Zuko then turned to Sokka. "Sokka, I asked around the lounge, there are no Water Tribe prisoners. I'm afraid your father's not here."

"What?" Sokka questioned in shock. "Are you sure, did you double-check?!"

"Yes, we did." Karai confirmed.

"I didn't see anyone that we knew either." Mikey added.

Sokka couldn't believe it. "No. No!" He slammed his fists against the wall.

"Sokka, I am truly sorry." Karai said sincerely as she, Zuko, Mikey, and Don looked toward him with sympathy.

"So we came all this way for nothing?!" Sokka questioned. "I failed! Again!"

Don put a hand on his shoulder. "No, we haven't failed. Maybe your dad isn't here, but we can still find something. Maybe someone we do know is here."

Sokka looked in his direction, but when he did, he noticed something. "Hey isn't that…?"

"What?" Zuko asked.

Sokka ran in the direction he was looking and looked down in the courtyard, everyone else followed suit. "What? What is it?" Mikey asked.

"Down there!" Sokka pointed down to a certain young woman most of them knew. "It's Suki!"

It was indeed the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, whom was wearing the same red rags prisoners had. However, there was someone else who noticed her, a Fire Nation guard.

"Hey there, what's a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?" The guard asked in a smug expression, something Sokka scowled at.

Suki didn't pay the guard a response as he looked away. The guard didn't like that. "Hey, when a guard talks to you, you're supposed to pay them the proper respect." Suki still didn't respond. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" He grabbed Suki's arm and pulled her up hard.

As the guard pulled back a fist with his free hand, he felt someone grab it. "Yo pal! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

The Turtles instantly recognized this person. "Casey!?"

The guard didn't have time to react as Casey Jones punched him in the face, knocking out three teeth in the process as the guard fell down. The turtles' favorite vigilante also wore the same red rags as the rest of the prisoners.

"You okay?" Casey asked Suki.

"Uh yeah… thanks." Suki replied.

Before anything else was said a loud bell was rung. "Prisoners! Back in your cells!" With that, all the prisoners began to make their way back to their cells.

Up on the balcony; Mikey, Don, and Sokka we're quite happy to say the least. They found two of their closest friends. "Alright! This is good!" Mikey stated.

"Okay, Sokka you and Zuko go and meet with Suki. Mikey and I got Casey." Don told the group.

"I will keep searching the prison for any other familiar faces." Karai informed as everyone nodded and went off in separate directions.

* * *

 _Inside_

Casey Jones banged his fists against the doors of his cell. "Listen up punks!" He spoke out loud so that every Fire Nation guard and Foot soldier within hearing range could hear him.

"It's gonna take a lot more than metal walls to bring down Casey Jones! You hear me?! I won't rest till every last one of you punks is behind bars or pushing up daisies!"

He heard the door unlocked and backed up as he raised his fists ready to put the smack down on whoever came in. It opened to reveal two pudgy looking Foot Ninja, whom Casey immediately kicked hard in the side, knocking him down. He grabbed the second one and threw him to the wall.

"Dude Casey!" The first one that got kicked exclaimed. "Its us!" He took off his mask to reveal Mikey's face. The other one took off his mask to reveal the face of Don.

Casey looked shocked before a wide smile formed on his face. "Guys! You're back!" He grabbed both Don and Mikey and laughed as he pulled them in back-crushing hug.

Mikey smiled as he grimaced. "I don't know what' worse: a Casey-kick-in-the-ribs, or a Casey-bear-hug."

Casey let them go. "Guys, its great to see ya, but what are you doing here?"

"Busting you out of here." Don replied. "Anyone else from the invasion here?"

"Don't know." Casey said. "The Foot are having sent off at different places at different times to keep us separated."

"Yeah well we and a few others are gonna bust you out of here." Mikey said.

Casey smirked. "About time."

* * *

 _Elsewhere_

Suki laid on the bed of her cell as a door opened when a certain guard walked in.

"What is it? Did I do something wrong?" She harshly asked.

"You mean you don't recognize me?"

"You people all look the same to me, both Foot and Fire Nation." She looked away with a scowl.

The guard had a smug grin. "Oh? Then maybe you'll recognize this." He puckered up his lips for a kiss, only to have Suki grab him by the face and knock him back with a palm-thrust.

This resulted in his helmet getting knocked off, revealing his face.

Suki's eyes lit up. "Sokka! It's you!" She ran up to him and embraced him with all her might. Sokka wasted no time hugging her back as she shed tears of joy. They both helped each other up.

"The other Kyoshi Warriors, are they here?" Sokka asked.

"No, I don't know where they are." Suki answered. "They locked me in here because I'm the leader."

Sokka put his right hand against her cheek. "Well you won't be in here for long. I'm busting you out."

"I'm so glad to see you Sokka." Suki gently grabbed his hand. "I knew you'd come."

The two looked deeply in each other's eyes before they kissed.

Outside, Zuko, still in his guard disguise, stood on-guard outside the door. He saw another guard walk up the stairs and towards the cell. Zuko knocked on the door, getting Sokka and Suki's attention.

The female guard walked up. "Excuse me. I need to get into that cell."

"No you can't go in there." Zuko tried to think of an excuse. "The lights are out, the prisoner could sneak up on you."

She wasn't convinced at all. "Step aside, fool." As she moved past him, Zuko grabbed her arm and tried to pin her to the wall. "Hey, hey, what are you doing?!" She tried to fight back.

Sokka and Suki hiding underneath the peephole of the door heard the commotion outside. He quickly put on his helmet so that he could get out.

As Zuko continued to wrestle with the female guard, Sokka was able to slip outside unnoticed and began to slowly walk away. The female guard noticed him.

"Guard! Help!" She shouted to Sokka, who turned around. "I think he's an imposter! Arrest him!"

Sokka really had no choice. Reluctantly he walked up them, grabbed Sokka and pinned him to the ground. "You're under arrest!" He forced him up as he whispered to Zuko. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out."

* * *

Sometime later, Zuko was in the prison clothes as he leaned against the wall of the cell he was confined in. The door opened, it was the disguised-Karai, they shared eye contact as she nodded and he nodded back. She cleared the way for the warden.

"Well, well, well." The warden began. "I never thought I'd find you in here, Prince Zuko."

"How did you know who I am?" Zuko questioned.

"How could I not?" The warden questioned. "You broke my niece's heart."

The disguised-Karai's eyes widened, as did Zuko's. "You're Mai's uncle? I never meant to hurt her."

"Quiet!" The warden exclaimed. "You're my _special_ prisoner now, and you best behave. If these criminals found out who you are, the traitor prince who let his nation down, why they'd tear you to shreds."

Zuko scoffed. "So what's in it for you, why don't you just turn me over to the Shredder and collect a reward?"

The warden smirked. "Oh in due time, believe me, I intend to collect." He then walked out as he closed the door behind him.

The disguised-Karai happened to glance upward to a higher level as she spotted a Foot ninja having observed the whole thing. She walked away as the Foot accessed his comns. "Contact Master Shredder, Zuko is here."

* * *

Some time later; the disguised-Sokka met up with Karai, Mikey, and Don as they walked down a set of stairs where several other prisoners we're lounging around, a few guards and Foot soldiers we're present as well. They ran into Casey, Mikey made a gesture for him to 'come here', which he did.

They turned behind a flight of stairs to see both Zuko and Suki mopping the floor. Casey happened to recognize the scared-prince.

"Hey, its you!"

Zuko looked up in slight confusion. "Uh, do I know you?"

"Yo, it's me. Casey Jones. I was at the tea shop you and your uncle set up?"

Zuko them remembered it. "Oh right, yeah it's been a while."

"So the guys tell me you're the Fire Lord's son, but now you're one of the good guys?" Casey recalled.

Zuko looked a little nervous. "Well yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen, I uh…"

He didn't get a chance to finish as Casey pulled Zuko into a headlock and gave him a friendly noogie. "Ha ha ha! See?! I knew I had a good feeling about ya! I knew it!"

Zuko was quite surprised to say the least, as was everyone else. "So wait… you like him?" Suki questioned.

"Yeah. I mean he's with the guys right?" Casey stated. "Plus, I ain't gonna judge a guy on who his old man is." He turned to Zuko as he let go. "I don't care what anyone says about you, Scarface. You're an okay-Joe in my book."

"Uh… thanks." The surprised Zuko said.

"Well it would seem we are all acquainted then." The disguised Karai said.

Suki's eyes slightly widened as she recognized that voice. "Wait a minute. I know you."

Karai sighed as she lifted her facemask. "Yes, we have met before."

"Um… you guys gonna let us in here?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah, when the Kyoshi Warriors and I we're kidnapped by the Foot, this was one of the ones that stole our uniforms." Suki said with a scowl.

"Yes… I… apologize for that." Karai stuttered out.

Sokka put a hand on Suki's shoulder. "Don't worry, she's on our side now. Promise."

Suki sighed. She didn't exactly like it, but she trusted Sokka. And if Sokka trusted anyone, that was fine with her.

Everyone got on their knees behind the stairs; Don and Mikey took their masks off, as did Sokka and Karai.

"Alright, so how are getting out of here?" Mikey asked.

"We dropping smoke bombs in the toilet?" Casey asked. "Or are we busting out the old fashion way: by going full-on-Rambo."

"Actually, our method of escape is going to be a bit less exciting than that." Don answered.

"Aw man." Casey moaned.

"Don and I checked out the coolers again, the whole point of them is to keep Firebenders contained, right?" Sokka began.

"Yeah?" Zuko responded.

"The containers have to be completely insulated in order to keep the cold air inside." Don continued. "In order to keep the cold in, it has to keep the heat out."

Karai seemed to understand. "I see. That's your plan. Very clever."

"What's clever?" Mikey asked. "I don't get it."

"Will you guys just spill it?" Suki asked

"It's a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water." Sokka said.

Zuko, Mikey, Casey, and Suki we're quite surprised to hear that. "So we're using a fridge as a boat?" Casey asked for clarification.

"For a lack of a better term, yes." Karai confirmed.

"Are you sure about that?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah, if this boat springs a leak we're done for." Mikey confirmed.

"Don't worry, we tested it." Don said. "Earlier today, Sokka and I snuck outside the walls of the prison and checked the perimeter, we spotted a blind spot between two guard towers."

"Yeah, its the perfect launching point." Sokka continued. "We even tested it with our paper boat."

"The current may move a bit slow, but it'll take us directly to the other side." Don continued as well. "So long as we keep quiet not even the Foot will notice us."

"Then bing-bang-boom we're home free." Sokka finished.

"Well at least the plan's simple." Casey stated. "Not as flashy as I would like, but still simple."

"There's just one problem." Mikey pointed out. "How the shell are we gonna get the cooler out?"

"Yeah." Everyone looked up in surprise to see Chit-Sang on the stair-set above all of them. "How _are_ you gonna get the cooler out?" He jumped down to join them.

The group was quite surprised, especially the Turtles as he's now seen their faces, despite the fact that they quickly put their masks back on.

"What?" Sokka tried to act innocent. "We didn't… we… we didn't say that!"

"Yeah you heard wrong." Zuko added.

"I heard you hatching an escape plan, and I want in." Chit-Sang stated.

"As we said, you misheard." Karai firmly stated.

"There ain't anything to get in on." Casey said as well.

"Yeah…" Mikey tried. "The only thing we're hatching is… uh… a hard boiled egg?" This resulted in Zuko, Don, Suki, Karai, Sokka, even Casey groaning as they face-palmed.

"Okay, well I'm with you or the warden hears about this 'egg' to and your little green friends to." Chit-Sang said, as he did see the Turtles' faces.

Everyone sighed. "I guess we have no choice." Suki said.

"Fine, you're in." Don conceded.

"So we got an extra player, I say the more the merrier." Casey stated.

"So what's the plan?" Mikey asked.

Karai reached behind her and pulled out a wrench. "In order for this to work, one of us has to be inside the cooler and unbolt it. Zuko, you are the only Firebender so it'll be you." She handed him the wrench.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Casey said with a smirk.

"Yeah we can get ya inside no problem." Chit-Sang agreed as he and Casey shared smirks.

After going over the plan, Don and Mikey, still in their Foot disguises, managed to quietly flip from their spot and get on the second balcony. Casey walked out and leaned against the wall and tried to make up a conversation with Chit-Sang. As they did, Zuko was pretending to mop but 'accidentally' jabbed it into Chit-Sang's back.

"Hey, what are you stupid?! Watch where you're going!" Chit-Sang grabbed Zuko and threw him to the side.

"Hey, you watch where you're shoving!" Zuko acted out as well as he tried to throw a punch, but Chit-Sang ducked and the punch 'accidentally' hit Casey. He reeled back a bit, hidig his smirk.

"Alright wise guy, you wanna go? Huh is that what you want?!" Casey challenged. "Lets go!" Casey tackled Zuko to the middle of the floor, Chit-Sang went in as well. Zuko forced them both up as they tried to wrestle each other.

Mikey, still in his Foot uniform, looked to a neighboring Foot Ninja. "Hey look, we got a show going on." The Foot ninja looked down at the commotion.

Don also got the attention of another Foot ninja closed to him. "Hey, what are they up to down there?"

Thanks the two disguised Turtles, several Foot ninja had their eyes focus on the 'struggle' between Zuko, Chit-Sang, and Casey. Karai was in her guard disguise trying to force back the cheering crowd of prisoners.

"Get back! All of you! Get back!"

Sokka was in his disguise as well. "I need back up over here!"

With several prisoners, guards, and ninja focused on the fight, the three worked on their acting. Casey threw a punch to Chit-Sang, which he grabbed and threw the man over his shoulder. Zuko threw a fire-fist at Chit-Sang, forcing him to jump over it.

Three Foot Ninja jumped down as soon as that happened. "No Firebending, Trash! Into the cooler!" One ninja exclaimed as the other two quickly ran and restraint Zuko. They then began to lead Zuko away as everyone else, including the disguised heroes, began to discretely disappear with the crowd.

* * *

 _A few hours later_

Karai and Sokka, both wearing their guard disguises, opened the cooler that Zuko sat in. Karai addressed him.

"We can escort you to your cell if you have learned your lesson." She acted.

Zuko took a deep breath as flames left his nostrils while he smirked. "Yes I have, completely." He revealed a pocket in his shirt, carrying all the bolts of the cooler, as well as the wrench he used to unbolt them.

Karai and Sokka each shared a smirk as Sokka leaned in. "Don and Mikey are helping Suki, Casey, and Chit-Sang out of their cells now. They're meeting us on the beach."

Karai heard a pair of footsteps. "Someone is coming." She pushed Sokka into the cooler with Zuko before she stepped in and quickly closed the door.

Two Foot ninja we're walking past the cooler hallway. "We have new arrivals coming in at dawn."

Zuko, Sokka, and Karai listened in on the conversation.

"Who is it?"

"There is a small group of common thieves for the most part. However, we have a few of those from the Invasion coming as well."

That got their attention as the three shared surprised glances. "People from the invasion? It could be your father." Zuko said to Sokka.

"I know." Sokka said, as he looked down conflicted.

"So, are we going with the initial plan or are we waiting another night?" Karai asked.

"I don't know." Sokka honestly said. "Is it right of me to risk Suki's freedom, Casey's freedom, all our freedom on the slim chance that our dad or some of other friends are gonna show up?"

"This is your mission Sokka, it's your call." Karai told him.

Sokka had a look on his face that indicated both pondering and confliction.

* * *

 _Later that evening_

It was dark out as Mikey and Don, both having shed their Foot disguises, waited along with Casey, Suki, and Chit-Sang on the shore. They heard a noise above and looked to see Karai, Sokka, and Zuko helping to slide the dislodged cooler down so it wouldn't make any noise.

Don, Casey, Suki, Mikey, and Chit-Sang ran up to help in its descent. "What took you so long?" Mikey asked.

"You try taking this thing out without anyone noticing!" Zuko shot back.

Karai looked down and spotted two additional prisoners, a man and a woman. "I did not realize others would be joining us."

"This here is my girl and best buddy, they're coming to." Chit-Sang pointed out.

Zuko looked to the Turtles. "Hey, he threatened to tell the Foot if we didn't say yes." Don stated.

Sokka looked really annoyed. "Fine." They helped the cooler down t the shore. "Everybody in the cooler. Lets go."

Don, Chit-Sang, and Casey helped to turn it forty-five degrees. As they did, Sokka went to a rock that hid all his supplies, as well as his Water Tribe clothes and space sword.

"Are you sure you wanna go?" Zuko asked. "You're the one who said you wanted to redeem yourself."

"What are you guys talking about?" Don asked.

"We heard there would be friends of yours from the invasion arriving on the gondola at dawn." Karai answered.

"Say what?" Mikey questioned.

"More of our pals are showing up?" Casey questioned as well.

"Then does that mean… Master Splinter?" Mikey questioned. "Or Sokka's dad?"

"Sokka's dad?" Suki questioned.

"We don't know who it is." Karai responded. "Only that they we're part of the Invasion Force."

Sokka turned to face the group. "If I'd just cut my loses at the Invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe sometimes its better just to call it quits before you fail."

"That's quitter talk!" Casey exclaimed. "Look kid, it don't matter how many times you fall. We fall so we learn to pick ourselves back up."

"Got that right." Don agreed. "Master Splinter taught us to never give up, even if the odds are against us."

"Even if it isn't your dad or Master Splinter, its still gotta be one of our friends right? Shouldn't that be a reason to stay?" Mikey questioned.

Sokka stood up but looked down as they talked. "Look Sokka, I speak from experience." Zuko began. "Even if you fail over and over again, you can't quit just because you're worried you might fail."

"Hey!" Chit-Sang called out. "If you are all done cuddling, can we get a move on?" He was ready to board the cooler and get out with his friends.

Sokka made a decision. "No. I'm staying." He turned to face Don, Zuko, Mikey, Casey, Karai, and Suki. "You guys go." He approached the one he cared for the most. "You've been here long enough." He put a hand on Suki's shoulder.

"I'm not leaving without you Sokka." Suki said as she put her hand on his.

"Neither am I." Don said as well. "I don't leave my friends behind."

"I'm staying here to." Mikey said.

"I ain't leaving either." Casey agreed.

"I'm staying to." Zuko said.

"As am I." Karai joined in as well.

"Not me, I'm out!" Chit-Sang said as he pushed the cooler in the boiling water. "Lets roll baby!"

They all saw the cooler begin to float away. "We gave up our only chance of escaping. I hope we haven't just made a huge mistake."

"Look on the bright side, it means we can have a chance for a much more flashy and exciting exit next time." Mikey tried.

"As long as I get to bust some skulls, I'm in." Casey agreed.

* * *

 _Some time later_

It was dawn as the gondola was moving toward the prison. The cooler-boat was still moving at a snail's pace across the boiling lake. Despite keeping the scolding hot water out, plenty of heat was getting in, causing Chit-Sang and his friends to sweat. Chit-Sang was starting to loose patience.

"Ugh. This current is so slow." He reached out and tried to pry off a piece of metal. "I can use this to paddle." He tried to paddle, but a splash of the scalding hot water hit his hand.

He painfully held his hand as his body turned red trying to hold his scream in, but he couldn't do it.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The pain-educed scream echoed throughout the entire volcano, which caught the attention of a patrolling Foot ninja on the prison wall. He looked in surprise to see the dislodged cooler.

"All hands! Prisoner escape!"

With that call, the guards began to ring the alarm bells. The warden was not pleased at all about this. "Guards! Secure the perimeter and lock down the prisoners! Now!"

In the courtyard, Fire Nation guards and Foot soldiers used fire-whips an electrical whips respectively as they rounded up the prisoners to force them into a lockdown.

Meanwhile; Don, Sokka, Mikey, Zuko, Casey, Karai, and Suki we're sneaking on the side of the wall trying to get in when they heard the alarm.

"Oh that can't be good." Casey noted.

"The plan failed! They're caught!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Now I'm glad that we actually _didn't_ use that cooler-boat." Mikey said.

"Let us use this to try and get back inside. Even the Foot soldiers will be preoccupied by this." Karai advised.

The group then tried to make there way back inside along the wall. Back on the wall, the warden ran to a Foot soldier who was manning a large metal harpoon.

"Get the fugitives and throw them in the cooler!" The warden ordered.

"You do realize that they _are_ in a cooler, right?" The ninja informed him.

"One that's bolted down and not floating in the water!" The warden exclaimed. "This is a lockdown! We have new prisoners arriving! Everything must be completely secured!"

The ninja rolled his eyes as he used the harpoon to launch a roped-spear at the floating cooler. It snagged its target and began to pull it, and the people inside, back to the prison.

Sokka, Don, Zuko, Suki, Karai, Mikey, and Casey made it to a spot where they could get a good view of the gondola.

"The gondola's coming!" Don exclaimed as they saw it arrive. It slowly pulled up to the arrival tower where several guards and Foot ninja awaited them.

"This is it." Sokka said. "If my dad's not there we've risked everything for nothing."

"It'll be someone from the invasion." Mikey said as he, Don, and Sokka we're up front with hopeful expressions.

"And no matter what happens Sokka, we're in this together." Suki assured him as she held his hand.

"Come on, come on." Sokka hopped as they saw the door open. The first one to step out was a certain humanoid rabbit in hand-cuffs.

"Is… is that a giant bunny?" Zuko questioned.

"That's Usagi!" Don exclaimed.

"Whom?" Karai asked.

"A friend of ours, especially Leo's." Mikey answered. "So far, so good."

"But lets see who else is here." Casey said. As they watched everyone get off.

Usagi was the only one they recognized so far, everyone else just seemed like generic people that none of them knew.

"Where is he?" Sokka hopped. It seemed like no one else was getting off. "That's it? That can't be it."

"Hey we still got someone, that's a victory, right?" Mikey tried, but he was disappointed that Master Splinter wasn't there.

"I'm sorry Sokka." Suki consoled.

"Oh no." Sokka dejectedly said as he, Don, and Mikey looked down.

"Hey you two!" A Foot ninja ordered, getting everyone's attention. "Get off the gondola!"

Everyone looked as two more individuals began to walk out. Sokka, Mikey, and Don all looked with wide eyes as they recognized both Hakoda and the rat-sensei that walked out.

"Dad." Sokka said.

"Master Splinter!" Don and Mikey exclaimed at the same time.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se, Foot Central Command_

Azula walked through the halls towards the quarters of Oroku Saki as he summoned her for a mission.

"Oh, look who's here."

The Fire Nation princess turned to the wall to see her new partner leaning against it with arms crossed.

"Hello Hama." Azula greeted plainly.

The sinister Waterbender had her youthful appearance still as she wore the uniform identical to that of the Foot Ninja, only it had dark blue clothing instead of black, with light blue clothing and gloves and boots instead of grey. She had no mask, though her hair was tied back in a ponytail. The only thing that wasn't blue was the red Foot symbol on her chest.

"What brings you here, Princess?" Hama asked nonchalantly.

"Master Shredder summoned me." Azula answered.

"What a coincidence, he summed me as well." Hama said.

"He did say that we would be working together. So I suppose this our first mission together." Azula mused.

"Looks like it." Hama had a smug grin. "And don't worry little princes, I'll make sure there's still some of the enemy left for you to play with."

Azula scowled slightly. "That is if I don't burn them to a crisp first."

"Oh, that sounds like a challenge." Hama mused. "Well I accept. Shall we?"

"After you." Azula gestured to the door as she and Hama walked into the quarters of Oroku Saki who sat from a chair with Hun by his side.

"Azula, Hama, welcome." Oroku Saki greeted.

Both women kneeled before him. "You summoned us, Master Shredder?" Azula asked.

"Yes." Oroku Saki said. "I have received word that Zuko has been spotted at the Boiling Rock."

That got Azula's attention. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Hun confirmed. "And if he's there…."

"The Turtles can't be far behind." Hama finished with an evil grin, eager for her revenge.

"Exactly." Oroku Saki stood up. "You two, as well as Hun, the Elite Ninja, Mai, and Ty-Lee will go there. If you do indeed spot the Turtles you are to exterminate them on sight."

"As you wish, Master Shredder." Both Azula and Hama said at the same time.

 **Done.**

 **Once again, I deeply apologize for having you all wait so long. I've just had a lot of characters in this chapter with not just Zuko, Mikey, Don, Sokka, and Karai, but as well as Suki and Casey.**

 **And it looks like Hakoda, Master Splinter, and Usagi are going to join our heroes as they bust out; but not without encountering some fierce resistance.**

 **Meanwhile, back on the Western Air Temple, Katara is still being manipulated by the Foot Mystics. Leo has warned Aang about Katara's behavior, and she is not going to take it well at all.**

 **What'll happen?**

 **Find out next time, as I will have Part 2 up soon.**

 **That's all for now.**


	28. The Boiling Rock Part 2

**Hi everyone. Thank you all for waiting. Before we start I'd like to say a few things. I do appreciate all the support everyone is giving me, and I thank you all for your patience, however, there are some guest reviewers who keep urging me to update. I assure you that I have every intention of continuing this story, however, I do have other stories on my profile that I need to work on as well, and I have been getting more hours at work as well so there may be a wait between each update.**

 **Once again, thank you for waiting, but I'd like to urge my guest reviewers to please have patience as I work with this story.**

 **The Boiling Rock Part 2**

 _Western Air Temple_

It was just about dawn as Aang had woken up to feed Appa a stack of hay. As he patted his bison's head, he glanced to his left to see Katara walking in one direction, not even looking at Aang.

"Good Morning, Katara." Aang greeted in a friendly manner, she shot him a glare that made his smile vanish before she resumed her walk away from him.

Aang looked towards Appa who shared a concerned look before the young Avatar quickly walked to Katara. "Hey Katara, are you okay?" He asked as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"What do you care?" Katara uttered, as she didn't even look at him.

Aang was completely surprised at how she just responded. "What do you mean? Of course I care?"

"You sure about that?" She responded. "It doesn't really seem like that since you don't trust me anymore."

"What?" Aang questioned. "I _do_ trust you Katara."

"I heard what you and Leo we're talking about yesterday!" She turned around to Aang with a look of fury while Aang was completely surprised. "How could you?! After everything you and I been through all this time, you trust _him_ more than you trust me?!"

"Katara, I…" Aang didn't know how to respond at first. "I trust you, you're one of my closest friends, but so is Leo. There aren't any sides here, we're all friends."

"Not all of us." Katara argued. "Zuko and Karai are _not_ our friends! But you don't seem to get that, no one here does! Am I the only sane person here?! How can any of you just let them in after all they've done?!"

Aang took a deep breath. "Katara, look. I get it, I do. I know they've done bad things, but they've done plenty of good things to. They want to help us, Zuko used the Sword of Tengu to beat back the Dark Turtles by himself, and almost got his hands burnt off for it. Karai saved my life a couple times at the Sun Warrior's temple to."

"It doesn't make up for what they've done." Katara said darkly.

"I think it does." Aang stated firmly. "Katara, try to look at it through their point of view. Zuko was banished from his home, and the only way he could ever go back was to get me. I don't like it, but I get it. I know how it feels to be taken away from your home. And as horrible as it sounds, Shredder is Karai's father, can you imagine how hard it was for her to leave her own father to help us?"

There was a moment where it felt like Katara was listening, but with a red flash in her eyes, her anger returned. "We don't need their help."

"Katara, I need a Firebending teacher." Aang told her. "And since Shredder is telling the Fire Nation that I killed the Fire Lord, I'm not going to get any other volunteers. Zuko is my only option. Plus I've seen Karai, she is a great warrior, and she knows a lot about Shredder. And they've even got someone inside the Foot working for them."

Katara stubbornly turned around and began to walk away. "You know what Aang? For someone who's supposed to be wise, you're unbearably naïve!" She stomped away while Aang could only look with concern as someone he truly loved began to sink deeper into darkness.

* * *

 _The Boiling Rock_

The Warden and several Fire Nation guards and Foot Ninja we're at the top of the tower to 'greet' the newly arrived prisoners, which included Master Splinter, Hakoda, and Usagi.

"Line em up for the Warden!" One guard ordered as the other guards saw that the prisoners we're put in a line to face the Warden.

Sokka and Karai, still disguised as Fire Nation guards, as well as Don and Mikey, disguised as Foot Ninja, just arrived after escorting Suki, Zuko, and Casey back to their cells after confirming their friends we're on the gondola.

"That is your father?" Karai asked in a whisper to Sokka.

"Yeah, that's him." Sokka confirmed.

"Plus we got both Master Splinter and Usagi, looks like coming to the Boiling Rock was a good idea after all." Don whispered.

"Yeah, but how are we going to get out of this dump?" Mikey questioned in a whisper.

"We'll figure something out." Sokka said as they tried to blend in.

The Warden then began to directly address the prisoners. "Welcome to the Boiling Rock. I'm sure you've all heard all the horrible rumors about our little island, well I just want to tell you, that they don't have to be true. As long as you do everything I say."

"For now at least." Usagi uttered.

"What was that?" The Warden asked the rabbit samurai with a slight glare.

"I question whether who it is we truly answer to in this place." Usagi stated to the Warden. "You, or them?" He gestured towards the Foot Ninja.

The Warden had an expression of anger on his face as he pulled Usagi in by the collar of his shirt, but the samurai didn't deter. "I make the decisions here! _I_ am in charge! Keep that in mind or I'll be having rabbit stew for dinner!"

"Keep your empty threats to yourself." Usagi told him directly to the Warden's face.

The Warden threw him back, but Usagi stood up rather quickly and glared at the Warden. "Anyone else have anything to say?" The Warden questioned to the other prisoners.

"Only that those who depend solely on the power they have, will soon find that power turned against him." Master Splinter stated, causing the Warden to turn to him.

"Is that some sort of threat, rat?" The Warden questioned. "Is it?!" He placed his foot on Splinter's cuffs, forcing him to the ground. The disguised Turtles we're about to jump in, but Karai put a hand on both their shoulders to keep them from doing anything rash.

"It is not a threat, but a warning." Splinter said as he looked up the Warden.

The Warden paid no mind to this. "You will all do as I say or pay the price!" He spoke to the prisoners. "You will all…" Before he could walk away, Hakoda stuck his foot out, causing the Warden to trip and fall on the ground.

Mikey, Sokka, and Don all snickered at that, while Karai bore an amused smile, as several guards came to help up the warden. The Foot Ninja stayed where they are.

"Are you okay sir?"

"I'm fine!" The Warden exclaimed as he stood up. "Get these prisoners out of my sight!"

The guards and Foot soldiers began to escort the prisoners away while Sokka, Don, Mikey, and Karai slowly backed away.

* * *

 _Inside the prison_

Usagi leaned back against the wall of the small cell he shared with Hakoda and Splinter; the former sitting on the only mattress while the rat sensei was in a meditative position.

"You guys wondering why all three of us are sharing the same cell?" Hakoda wondered.

"Perhaps because there is no room in the prison." Usagi guessed.

"No." Splinter said. "I feel the answer to us will come soon through that door."

As soon as he said that, the door to the cell opened as one disguised guard, and two disguised ninja entered the cell. Splinter looked in their direction while Hakoda and Usagi glared.

"Thank goodness you're all okay." The disguised guard said, but Hakoda and Usagi took combat stances.

"If any of you take one step closer, you'll see just how okay, we are." Hakoda glared.

Splinter stood up. "There is no need for that." He assured as he turned to the disguised individuals. "Is it, my sons?"

"Nope." Don said as he took off his mask with Mikey. "Not at all." Sokka also lifted his helmet to reveal his face.

Usagi and Hakoda we're both surprised before the later had tears of joy in his eyes. "Sokka, my son!" He and Sokka both hugged as Usagi smiled.

"It is good to see all of you." The rabbit samurai said, the two Turltes nodded before they ran up to their sensei and hugged him.

"How'd you know it was us Sensei?" Mikey asked.

"A father can tell these things." Splinter answered. "Besides, I can smell you a mile away."

"Though you guys should be careful with those outfits." Hakoda advised. "Almost punched you're lights out."

Sokka laughed nervously. "Yeah, we sort of ran into that problem earlier."

* * *

 _Western Air Temple_

Leo was in the main courtyard area of the temple practicing some tai chi. He spent at least an hour working on this until he heard something heading his way fast. Leo ducked to avoid a water tentacle being sent at him. He looked towards Katara who had just shot it at him.

"You are so smug! You know that?!" Katara exclaimed in anger to Leo. "It's bad enough you let Zuko and Karai in, but now you've turned Aang against me?!"

"I didn't turn anyone against you, Katara!" Leo told her.

"I heard what you two we're talking about!" Katara exclaimed.

"I thought you might be able to listen to him since you've been unable to listen to me." Leo said to Katara. "But I guess I was wrong."

"And maybe I was wrong to." Katara stated as she had a dark look aimed at Leo. "Maybe I was wrong to ever trust you."

Leo was surprised to hear those words from her.

"You think you know what's best for everyone, don't you?" Katara began to mock. "That we can't possibly survive without the 'wise and mighty Leonardo' to lead us. Well let me tell you something, before you and your brothers came along, we've handled things just fine!"

"Oh and how you've been acting qualifies as 'just fine'?!" Leo questioned.

"How _I've_ been acting!?" Katara exclaimed in disbelief.

"You haven't been yourself Katara!" Leo began. "You've been holding yourself up in your room talking to yourself, brooding more than even Raph, and there was that whole thing about attacking Karai right out of the blue! What is going through that head of yours!?"

"Do _not_ push me Leo." Katara warned darkly. "You can't possibly expect me to just go along with every order you give."

"I let Zuko and Karai into the group because we need them!" Leo looked quite frustrated. "Why can't you see that?"

"We need them like we need extra garbage!" Katara stated. "Maybe things will be better off for all of us if _I_ lead!"

"Not as you are now!" Leo pointed to her. "You're too angry! Let me give you some advice, whatever grudge you think you have, let it go. Otherwise what you do next will not only hurt you, but everyone else around you."

Katara actually gave a slight chuckle. "Oh there actually is someone I want to hurt right now." She made a Waterbending stance as she faced Leo.

Leo had a serious look on his face. "Katara, don't make me do this."

"I'm not taking orders from you anymore." Katara said as another red flash appeared in her eyes.

Leo took out only one katana as he made a combat stance to face Katara. It would seem that words we're not going to get through to her, so the only option left was to teach her a lesson.

* * *

 _The Boiling Rock_

The Warden, and two escorting Foot Ninja, walked into a small cell that held Chit Sang who was currently strapped to a chair.

"Are you comfortable, Chit Sang?" The Warden asked.

"If you're trying to get me to talk, forget it! I'm not a squealer!" Chit Sang exclaimed as the Warden walked behind him.

"Chit Sang, I only asked if you we're comfortable." The Warden said.

"Well… yeah, actually I am pretty comfortable." Chit-Sang said, before the Warden kicked the chair down, causing Chit Sang to fall on his face.

"Are you still comfortable?" The Warden asked as he walked up to him.

"No." Chit Sang grumbled.

"I know you and your cronies are not smart enough to come up with that little escape plan." The Warden said, referring to the Cooler-boat-plan. "So you're gonna tell me, who _is_?" He asked as he slowly began to walk out.

The Warden turned to the two Foot Ninja. "He's all yours." He said as he walked out and the door was closed behind him, leaving Chit Sang with the two ninja.

"You are going to talk." One ninja said to him. "One way, or another."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the shared cell that held Hakoda, Usagi, and Splinter; Sokka was looking out the hole to see if anyone was watching them.

"So, where's Bato?" Sokka asked. "Where's everyone else from the Invasion?"

"Everyone else is being held in a prison near the Fire Nation palace in the capital." Master Splinter replied.

"But how'd you guys end up here?" Mikey asked.

"The three of us we're singled out as their leaders and sent here." Usagi replied.

"But, before we left, I met some young women who said they knew you Sokka." Hakoda tried to recall. "The Ocean-Nama Fighters?"

"You mean the Kyoshi Warriors?" Sokka asked.

"That's right." Hakoda remembered.

"Their leader Suki is in this prison to, and so is Casey, they're going to escape with all of us." Don told them.

Usagi nodded. "From the looks of this prison, we'll need all the allies we can get."

"Yeah, one more thing." Don said. "You know Prince Zuko?"

"The son of the late Fire Lord?" Hakoda tried to remember. "I don't know him, but I know _of_ him."

"And there's also this woman named Karai. " Sokka began, getting Splinter's attention. "Who just so happens to be the Shredder's daughter."

"That guy has a daughter?" Hakoda questioned in mild surprise.

"Adoptive daughter, but yeah." Don confirmed. "And both she and Zuko are here to."

"Sounds like a major problem." Hakoda said, looking down.

Mikey had a knowing grin on his face. "Actually, they're both on our side now."

"Excuse me?" Usagi questioned, while Hakoda bore a look of skepticism. Master Splinter had a look of mild surprise as well.

"Yeah we know." Sokka said. "After what they did, it was hard to trust either of them. But they've really proven themselves and we wouldn't have even made it here without their help."

Master Splinter nodded. "Just because someone bares the same blood of hated enemy, does not mean they cannot become a friend."

"Indeed." Usagi agreed. "If you say this Zuko and this Karai are with us, that's enough for me."

"Oh, and one more thing Master Splinter." Don began. "The Shredder's rebuilt the Sword of Tengu."

That caught Splinter completely off-guard before his expression became serious. While Hakoda looked confused. "The Sword of Tengu?"

"A super powerful weapon." Mikey said. "But, on the plus side, during that whole mess at the Invasion, Zuko and Karai stole the sword and gave it to us!"

Splinter was again surprised before a relieved smile formed on his face. "Well, I can take comfort in the fact it is no longer in the hands of the Shredder."

"Is this sword really all that?" Hakoda asked.

"You have no idea." Don replied.

"Getting to the subject at hand, do you have a plan for escape?" Usagi asked.

Sokka looked down. "We had one, but some of the other prisoners got involved and ruined it. I don't know if there's another way off this island."

Hakoda smirked. "Sokka, this prison's got with em two Water Tribe geniuses, three ninjas, and a samurai. There's no way it can hold us all."

"Well, lets get to work." Don said as everyone circled to try and come up with a plan.

* * *

After several moments, the group had come up with a plan. Hakoda, Splinter, and Usagi would wait in their shared cell until the time was right. Don, Mikey, and Sokka took up their disguised and regrouped with the disguised Karai and informed her of the plan. She thought the plan itself was a little crazy, but it was pretty much their only option. She would go ahead to tell Zuko while the others would tell the plan to Casey and Suki.

The disguised Karai walked towards the cell that held the former Fire Prince. She looked into the hole and began to whisper.

"Zuko, can you hear me?"

"I can hear you." Zuko whispered on the other side of the door.

"We have a new escape plan." Karai whispered but didn't get a chance to finish.

"What are you doing here?"

She turned around to see two Foot Ninja standing on a set of stairs facing her. Karai straightened herself up.

"I was telling this traitor how much I despise him." Karai stated.

"You will have to do that another time." One ninja said. "He's coming with us."

Karai looked confused. "Why is that?"

"None of your concern, Fire Trash!" The second ninja replied.

"Give me at least a moment to teach him a lesson?" Karai asked.

The two ninja conceded. "Very well, but only a moment." The second ninja told her. Karai walked into the cell and it sounded like a punching noise was heard. "I'll never understand these Fire Nation people."

Inside the cell, it was really Karai punching a rolled-up mattress held by Zuko as he was making grunting noises as she began to speak.

"As I said we have a new plan, but you have to be in the courtyard in an hour." Karai told him, but the door was about to open. Karai put on the act as it looked like she had Zuko pinned to the wall.

"Your time is up!" The first ninja replied as he and his partner walked in and pulled Zuko away.

Karai watched as they walked off, after some distance was gained she used her agility to jump from the floor up to the second floor and began to follow.

* * *

As Zuko was being dragged by the two ninja, he demanded to know where he was going. "What are you doing?! Where are you taking me?!" He demanded, as Karai continued to discretely follow from the second floor to make sure nothing happened.

Zuko was thrown into a room that only had a chair at the center. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Come on Zuko, we all know that's a lie." A new voice spoke up from the corner of the cell, causing Zuko to look with wide eyes.

"Mai."

Karai heard it from above and was surprised as well. "Psst." Karai heard that noise coming from an empty cell next to her. "Karai. Psst."

She looked in surprise to see none other than Ty-Lee hiding behind a semi-open door. Karai's eyes widened before she quickly came in, covered Ty-Lee's mouth and pulled the door shut. She held Ty-Lee close as she kept her hand clasped over her mouth to look outside to make sure no one saw them. Ocne she saw the coast was clear she let her friend go.

"Uh… Hi Karai." The pink-clad girl greeted with an uneasy smile.

"Ty-Lee."

* * *

 _Western Air Temple_

Aang sat down with Raph and Toph as April handed them some food. The Duke, Haru, and Teo we're off exploring more of the temple and said they would get some food later.

"Hey, you guys seen Leo or Katara?" Aang asked.

"Leo's probably off training, and Katara probably just throwing a temper tantrum again." Toph scoffed as she held her feet off.

"You guys do know something's off with Katara, right?" April asked.

"Oh we've noticed. That hothead." Raph stated, causing Aang, April, and even Toph to look at him in mild surprise. "I hate it when someone else reminds me of me."

"I'm worried about her." Aang said. "She's just been so angry these last few days. I've seen her angry before, but not like this."

No sooner did Toph set her feet down that she felt something with her seismic sense that made her gasp, getting everyone's attention. "Leo and Katara are fighting in the courtyard!"

"What?!" Aang questioned.

"Well what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Raph exclaimed as he got up, followed by April, and Aang as Toph led the way. Aang had a feeling that Katara's anger might boil over, but he didn't think that she'd just go out and fight Leo like this.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the courtyard of the temple, Leo used only one sword to parry and block the continuous strikes from Katara's water-whip. She froze her whip and angrily rushed at Leo with it, he blocked it with his sword before jumping back.

"Fight back!" Katara exclaimed. "Why won't you fight back!?"

"Because you're my friend!" Leo told her. "I won't hurt you, but I _am_ going to defend myself."

Katara's anger only seemed to grow as she rushed at Leo, who once again blocked her strike. She tried to punch him, but he caught her wrist and threw off his shoulder, causing her to roll on the ground.

"You can't beat me Katara." Leo said, but she didn't seem to believe it as she stood up.

"Guys stop!" They heard as both Leo and Katara saw Aang rushing towards them with Raph, Toph, and April behind them. "Stop fighting!"

Leo held his hand out. "Aang, stay back." Leo stated, keeping his eyes on Katara. "All of you stay back!"

"But you two are friends! We shouldn't be fighting!" Aang tried to reason with him.

"Trust me, Aang. I know what I'm doing." Leo said as Katara took out all the water from her satchels and bent two large water-whips around her arms and rushed to Leo, who was forced to unsheathe his second katana as he blocked the many strikes Katara relentlessly through at him.

Aang and April we're both about to step in, but Toph held her arm out in front of both of them. "Hold on a minute guys."

"Why would we be holding on?" April questioned. "One of them is going to get hurt!"

"I may not be able to see, but I can tell what's really going on." Toph stated as she gestured towards the 'fight'. Leo was mostly using defensive tactics against Katara; he didn't make any move to attack her directly.

"Yeah, take a good look." Raph seemed to catch on as well. Leo jumped over Katara to avoid a snap from her water-whips. As he landed he turned to her as Katara was taking several deep breaths.

Aang saw what was happening. "She's tired."

"Exactly." Raph said. "Leo's wearing her down. You guys have tried to talk to her, but she just doesn't listen. This same kind of thing happened to me. If Leo can get Katara to burn off some of her energy, maybe she might be calm enough to listen."

Aang was a bit surprised, this was the first time he saw any of the Turltes try this kind of tactic. He looked closer and saw that Leo was still mostly using defense. He could only hope that Leo truly knew what he was doing.

Katara relentlessly threw out her water towards Leo as she sent multiple water-strikes and ice-blades towards Leo who blocked them by spinning his katanas in front of him. He saw that Katara had already burnt off most of her energy so he decided to end it. He rushed forward with his swords.

Leo slashed towards Katara who desperately tried to block him, but he sliced and moved faster than she could. With several slices, her water-whips fell apart, as did her satchels. Katara's eyes widened at how fast Leo was able to do this. She fell to her knees in exhaustion.

"Your own anger defeats you Katara." Leo told her as he put his katanas away. "Now, are you willing to actually talk instead of keeping all of this bottled in?" He offered a hand up.

Katara tried to regain her breath as she saw Leo's hand extended to her. She had considered taking it, but another flash of red appeared in her eyes as a surge of aggressive energy entered her mind. Before Leo could even react, Katara had bent a small water puddle around her right hand, which formed a set of claws on her nails. She yelled in rage as she slashed at him.

 ***SLASH!***

Leo screamed as he fell backwards quite a bit, holding his right side where he had been slashed. Katara looked ready to strike again, but before she did, a rock pillar erupted from the ground to knock her back. Toph stood in front of Leo in an Earthbending stance, before Katara could respond; Raph grabbed her wrist and gave her a punch to knock her back.

"Have you lost it!?" Toph practically screamed at Katara.

"Katara, what the shell is your problem!?" Raph exclaimed in anger as well, pointing a finger at Katara.

Katara had a look that seemed equivalent to that of a rabid animal when she saw Toph and Raph standing in her way. Her eyes fell onto Leo as April quickly came to him.

"Leo!? Are you okay?!" April asked as she tried to help him. Leo grunted as he held the side where a large cut was seen, blood coming out of it as he tried to hold it in.

Katara saw the blood leak and it would seem her look began to lessen, she turned to see the expression on Aang's face as he looked at her. His face was one of shock, disbelief, confusion, and even a bit of fear.

The look from Aang's eyes seemed to cause something in Katara's mind to snap. Her eyes widened as the rage in her vanished. She saw her right hand, which still had the ice claw she made. It had blood on it, Leo's blood. Katara gasped realizing what she had just done.

Everyone gave her the same kind of look Aang did, save for Raph, which was one of great anger. She took a few steps back before turning around and running away from the scene.

Katara ran as fast as she could as it all came to her. Leo was like a brother to her and she made him bleed. He was only trying to help her and she still hurt him. As she thought of all of this, tears began to flow from her eyes as she continued to run. But it wasn't just that, it was the way Aang looked at her. She had never seen him look that way at her before, and it caused her heart to break.

* * *

 _The Boiling Rock_

The Warden walked into the interrogation room where the two Foot Ninja held Chit Sang upside down in his chair. "How is he?"

"He said he's ready to talk." One ninja responded as they threw Chit Sang back upright.

Chit Sang regained his breath, as this was a very unpleasant experience. "Have you had enough time to think about what I asked?" The Warden asked.

"Yes." Chit Sang breathed.

"And?"

"You're right." Chit Sang relented. "There _was_ another person involved in the escape plan."

"Who?"

"It's a guy who's disguised like a Foot Ninja, only he's not a Foot Ninja." Chit Sang said. "He's the mastermind. He came up with the plan."

The Warden smiled as he patted Chit Sang's head and left.

* * *

Zuko sat in the one chair with Mai leaning against the sidewall. "How did you know I was here?"

"The Foot are here, you idiot." Mai told him. "The moment they saw your face, what did you think would happen?"

Zuko face-palmed. "Is Shredder here?"

"No he isn't." Mai replied. This caused Zuko to breath a sigh of relief. "Don't think that means you're not in trouble." Mai said as she held out a certain note. "All I get is a letter? You could have at least looked me in the eye when you ripped out my heart!"

"I didn't mean to…"

"You didn't mean to?!" Mai angrily questioned before she walked behind Zuko and began to read it out loud. "'Dear Mai, I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I'm leaving….'"

"Stop!" Zuko stated. "This isn't about us, it's about the Fire Nation."

"Thanks Zuko, that makes me fell all better." Mai said in obvious sarcasm as she threw the note at the back of the head.

Zuko stood up. "Mai, I never meant to hurt you, but I had to leave to save my country and the rest of the planet."

Mai looked at him for a minute. "Shredder says you and Karai killed your dad."

"Do you really believe that?" Zuko asked.

Mai sighed. "No, I don't."

"Shredder is the one who did it." Zuko told her. "He's completely overthrown the Fire Nation, the only reason he's keeping Azula around is just to keep it looking like a partnership, rather than a dictatorship."

"I knew it." Mai stated.

"That's why I left." Zuko said. "To keep you safe." This got Mai's attention. "You know what he's like. If he saw you as an enemy, I couldn't live with myself if he did something to you because of me."

Mai looked towards Zuko with a soft expression.

* * *

Meanwhile, Karai was having a similar situation with Ty-Lee in their secluded area. "Ty-Lee, what are you doing here?"

"Well…" Ty-Lee rubbed the back of her neck. "Shredder said that Zuko was here so he sent Azula, Mai, Hun, and I with a couple of other guys to see if that was true."

"Is my father here as well?" Karai asked.

"No, and I'm really glad he isn't." Ty-Lee replied. "But… what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you." Karai told her, causing Ty-Lee to look in disappointment. "Ty-Lee, when we last spoke, you told me to follow my heart. That is what I am doing right now. That is why Zuko and I left, we no longer follow the Foot and we are trying to save this world."

Ty-Lee looked towards Karai. "I really am glad you're following your heart its just…" She seemed quite upset.

"You are wondering why Zuko and I didn't take you and Mai with us?" Karai finished.

"Why didn't you? Why did you just leave?" Ty-Lee asked. "I… I thought we we're friends.

Karai looked toward her with sympathy. "We _are_ friends Ty-Lee, that's why I didn't bring you as well." This caught Ty-Lee's attention. "This world thinks of Zuko and myself as criminals, and my father is doing what he can to hunt us down. I did not want that for you."

"You left… to protect me?"

Karai looked outside. "Ty-Lee, I'm sorry but I have to go." She was about to leave, but Ty-Lee grabbed her wrist and pulled herself in a hug, completely surprising Karai.

"You're a good person Karai. Don't forget, I'll always be your friend."

Karai was taken aback by this, but gave a quick hug before pushing her away. "I need to go. If you spot me while in the presence of Azula or Hun, do what you have to." Karai then walked out the door, leaving Ty-Lee both upset and happy at the same time.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Suki's cell, the aforementioned Kyoshi warrior was practicing many of her techniques with a series of punches and kicks. She heard her door open and saw Sokka walk in.

"Sokka, what's going on?" Suki asked.

"I don't have much time." Sokka said as he looked outside the hole. "If I'm seen with you the guards might think something's up." He turned back to Suki. "The Turltes and I just got done talking to my dad and the others."

"That's great."

"Yeah, and we're escaping today, on the gondola." Sokka informed.

That caught Suki by surprise. "What?"

"We came up with the plan together." Sokka began. "We're gonna commandeer the gondola, and we're gonna take a hostage with us so they don't cut the lines." He put his hands on her shoulders almost excitedly.

Suki placed her hands and removed Sokka's from her shoulders. "We'll never make it onto the gondola, guards and Foot soldiers are crawling all over the place."

"Mikey already had an idea for that." Sokka said. "He said we'd need a distraction, that's why we're gonna start a prison riot."

Suki didn't seem all that convinced. "Okay, lets say by some miracle and we make it on the gondola. The warden will still just cut the lines, even if we have a captive."

"Not if the warden _is_ the captive." Sokka informed.

"But, isn't he just a figure head for the Foot?" Suki questioned.

"Yeah, but the Foot are still gonna need him if they're going to maintain control of the prison, right? At least that's what Don said." Sokka replied.

There was a knock on the door. "Sokka, we need to go." Karai told him from outside.

"Be right there." Sokka turned to Suki who gave him a hug. "I'll find you before we start the riot."

Sokka exited the cell and joined Karai. "Is everything all set?" Karai asked.

"Yeah; Don and Mikey are just telling Casey about the plan to. We're gonna get this thing started in five minutes." Sokka answered.

"Let us hope that nothing goes wrong in that time frame." Karai hoped.

* * *

Elsewhere in the prison, Mikey and Don we're still disguised as Foot soldiers as Mikey knocked on the door to Casey's cell. "Cowabunga." Mikey whispered in code.

"Goongala." Casey whispered back from the other side as Don opened the door and the two entered.

"Okay, what's the plan guys?" Casey asked.

"Pretty simple." Don informed. "We're gonna let everyone outside in about five minutes. Then when everyone's out we're gonna start a riot, a big one."

"Count me in." Casey said with a large grin.

"Then we're gonna grab the warden and bail on the Gondola. That's it." Mikey said.

"Alright. I'm ready whenever you guys are." Casey said with a nod.

"We'll see you outside in about five minutes." Don said as he and Mikey left the cell.

* * *

The two disguised Turtles walked out of Casey's cell when they we're suddenly approached by two Fire Nation guards.

"Hey, ninja guys, the Warden wants to see you." One guard stated.

"Why?" Mikey asked.

"I don't know, I didn't ask." The guard replied.

"Uh can we try another time?" Don tried as he and Mikey began to slowly walk away. "How does tomorrow sound?"

"He wants to see you. Now." The guard insisted as more guards stopped the disguised Turtles for sneaking away.

"Okay." Mikey held his hands up innocently. "Couldn't hurt, right?"

* * *

Outside, on the tower of the prison, the Warden was standing in front of a line of at least ten Foot Ninja as Don and Mikey we're escorted towards the line by a few guards. Fortunately, they still had their masks on.

"Put them in the line up." The Warden ordered as Mikey and Don we're shoved to the line. Mikey tried to hide behind one ninja, only for the ninja to nudge him back.

"What is this about?" One ninja asked the Warden.

"One of you is an imposter who thought he could fool me." Don and Mikey discretely looked to each other nervously. "But now, that person is gonna be in a lot of trouble."

Chit Sang was escorted onto the scene, the two Turtles recognized him and knew this could spell trouble.

"Who is it?" The Warden asked.

Mikey looked extremely nervous as he sweated underneath his mask, while Don was ready to spring into action the second things went south. Fortunately, that moment would never come.

"That's him Warden. He's the imposter!" Chit Sang pointed to a completely separate ninja, the same one who bullied him the previous day.

"What?!" The Ninja exclaimed.

The Warden smirked as two guards slowly approached the accused Ninja. "I am not!" He grabbed Chit Sang by the shirt as the two guards began to pull him away. "He's lying! He's a liar!"

Chit Sang smirked, finally getting payback on the Ninja who bullied him, before he turned to the two disguised Turtles and gave him a wink. Mikey gave a sigh of relief, as did Don.

* * *

The Ninja was taken to an interrogation room. His mask was removed to reveal a bald man, as he was strapped to a chair and being interrogated by the Warden with two guards behind him.

"How many times do I have to say it wasn't me!?" The Ninja angrily exclaimed.

"Save your breath, I know you've been working together!" The warden looked the Ninja in the face. "You threw Chit Sang in the very cooler they used to escape, it was all part of your plan."

"Oh please." The Ninja scoffed. "If we wanted to get someone out of this prison, they'd already be out! We're masters of stealth you idiot!"

Before the Warden could reply the door opened from behind. "Sir, there's someone to see you." The guard pointed to the door.

"Who told you to interrupt me?!" The Warden angrily exclaimed, turning to the doorway. His look vanished before he and the guards bowed.

"We did." Azula said as she, Hun, and Hama stood in the doorway with the Elite Ninja outside.

"Princess Azula, and Hun sir." The Warden said as he got up. "Uh… it is an honor to welcome you to the Fire Nation's most exemplary prison. I did not realize you we're coming."

"It _is_ your honor." Hun said with a smirk.

Hama saw the ninja strapped to the chair. "And who might this be?" She asked.

"He is an imposter who was involved in a recent and feeble escape attempt." The Warden answered.

"It wasn't me!" The Ninja stated. "Hun, sir! You know I would never do something like that!"

"Quiet you!" The Warden pointed to him.

"Don't bother." Hun stated. "He's not an imposter."

The Warden looked confused as Hun, Azula, and Hama began to walk out. "How do you know?"

"Because we we're sent here to deal with the ones who are _really_ causing you trouble." Hun replied.

"Come on." Azula told them. "It's lunch time and I'm in the mood for Turtle soup."

* * *

Meanwhile, Karai and Sokka, still disguised as guards, walked into the controls for the cells where one guard was manning it.

"We have new orders." The disguised Karai said. "Release the prisoners into the yard."

"But we're in the middle of lockdown." The guard said.

"Oh okay." Sokka began as he and Karai began to walk away. "We'll just tell the Warden you said that." The guard looked scared. "I'm sure he'll be glad to hear about you undermining his authority. What's your name again?"

"Wait!" The scared guard stopped them. "D… Don't tell the Warden, I'm just a little confused."

"I understand." Karai began. "The orders don't make sense, but the Warden is acting a little irrational the moment. So it would likely be best for us not to question us and do what he says." She said in a friendly manner.

The guard seemed convinced. "Yeah, you're right." He began to pull the levers. "We're letting them out!"

* * *

All the cell doors in the entire prison opened as all the prisoners began to exit. Suki's door opened and she exited; Casey's door opened next and he ran outside. The last one to open was for the shared cell for Splinter, Usagi, and Hakoda.

"I believe our time is now." Master Splinter said as he, Usagi, and Hakoda ran out with the other prisoners.

* * *

Outside in the courtyard, all the prisoners have gathered, as did all the heroes planning to escape. Sokka and Karai ditched their helmets, and retrieved their respective swords. Don and Mikey even threw away their Foot disguises and recovered their weapons as they all met up with Hakoda, Casey, Splinter, Suki, and Usagi.

"Alright this is it! We have to start a riot!" Don stated.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Usagi asked.

Casey looked around and saw a rather large, muscular, bald prisoner with a scar and smirked with an idea. "Leave that to me."

He ran up and knocked down the prisoner. "Hey!" The prisoner turned around. "What did you do that for? That hurt my feelings!"

Casey was very confused. "Ain't you mad at me?"

"Well, normally I would be, but I've been learning to control my anger."

Sokka, Hakoda, Don, Karai, and Mikey gaped in disbelief as Usagi and Suki looked to each other in confusion.

"Well this isn't working" Sokka said.

"I'm certain we can still find a way to create chaos." Splinter said.

"Hey green boys!" Chit Sang exclaimed as he looked to Don and Mikey, getting the whole group's attention. "You two are lucky I didn't rat you out, but my generosity comes with a price."

"Who is this?" Usagi asked.

"Don't ask." Suki replied.

Chit Sang spoke to the group. "I know you're planning another escape attempt, and I want in."

Mikey had a grin on his face as an idea came to mind. "Actually, we're trying to escape right now, but we're gonna need a riot. Do you know how to start one?"

Chit Sang scoffed. "A prison riot? Please." He walked forward, grabbed a random prisoner and held him over his head as he addressed a massive crowd of prisoners.

"Hey! Riot!"

Less than a second later, a riot started as multiple fireballs we're shot out into the air and the courtyard erupted into chaos.

"You see? We found a way." Master Splinter said with a slight chuckle.

"Impressive." Hakoda observed.

"Very." Karai agreed.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Usagi asked Don.

"He is now." The purple Turtle said.

"I love this guy!" Mikey exclaimed in joy as he and Casey high-fived while Suki and Sokka just looked at each other in confusion.

"Forget about controlling my anger!" The prisoner who Casey pushed exclaimed. "Let's riot!" He to joined the fray.

The entire courtyard as in chaos as nearly every prisoner attacked each other with either fists or fireballs. They tackled each other, tossed each other, punched, wrestled, you name it. It even created a large dust cloud.

The Warden and several guards and Foot soldiers saw this from the tower. "Who let these prisoners into the yard?!" The Warden exclaimed in anger. "This is supposed to be a lockdown!"

The very same guard who was at the controls of the cells, who released the prisoners meanwhile was trying to shimmy away as fast as he could.

* * *

 _Inside the prison_

Zuko and Mai we're still in the same room as before when a guard quickly came in. "Ma'am, there's a riot going on! I'm here to protect you!" He told Mai.

"I don't need any protection." Mai told the guard.

Zuko gave an amused chuckle. "Believe me she doesn't."

"I'm sorry, but I'm under direct orders from your uncle to make sure nothing happens."

Zuko saw this as his chance. He shot a fireball at the guard's feet, forcing him to jump back protectively towards Mai as Zuko tried to run out.

"Get off of me!" Mai threw the guard away as she tried to go after Zuko but he closed the door with her inside and locked it. They shared eye contact for a moment.

"I'm sorry." Zuko said before running away.

* * *

 _Courtyard_

The riot was still going on as several guards tried to subdue the prisoners, but it only seemed to add fuel to the fire, literally. Sokka, Don, Mikey, Splinter, Suki, Karai, Hakoda, Casey, Chit Sang, and Usagi we're all at a wall with a clear view of the tower where several Foot soldiers we're.

Zuko threw a guard down as he joined them.

"What took you so long?" Mikey asked.

"Don't ask." Zuko replied.

"Well, all we have to do now is grab the warden and make a break for the gondola." Don stated.

"And how do we do that?" Zuko asked.

Sokka looked to him with an unsure look. "I'm not sure."

Zuko, and Karai both looked in surprise. "What?!" Karai questioned.

"I thought you guys came up the plan together!" Zuko exclaimed.

"We didn't have time to work out the details!" Mikey whined.

"Plus you said it was okay _not_ to think everything through!" Sokka whined.

"Maybe not everything! But this is kind of important!" Zuko face-palmed.

"How could you have _not_ come up with a full plan with all that's on the line?!" Karai angrily questioned.

Before anyone could say anything else, Chit Sang got the group's attention. "Hey uh, fellas. I think that girl, rat, and bunny are all taking care of it."

The group looked towards the riot and saw with surprise at what he was talking about.

Master Splinter ran towards the chaos with both Suki and Usagi right behind him. He jumped up onto the crowd and literally began to run on their heads, as did Usagi and Suki. The three ran with quick speed towards the tower. Once they made it to the wall, Splinter literally began to run up it as Usagi jumped with his own rabbit-feet straight to the platform as Suki climbed up, grabbing the railing from below with her feet and swinging herself up, and Splinter made it as well from running on the wall.

They we're immediately greeted by a Foot soldier with dual katanas. Master Splinter thrusted his palm to send the ninja flying to the other side of the platform. He grabbed both of the katanas and tossed them to his allies behind him. Suki caught one, as did Usagi.

Four more Foot Ninja ran out towards them to try and stop the escaping trio. Suki ran forward, used her newly acquired katana to block a spear strike from one Ninja before sweeping him off his feet with her legs. Usagi used the back of his own katana to knock out the Foot soldier attacking him as Splinter jumped towards the two remaining ninja and used his feet to slam their heads into each other as he landed.

Splinter then cupped his hands together as Suki jumped towards him, he caught her feet and gave her a boost up to the next platform before doing the same to Usagi. Splinter then ran up the wall to follow them.

The Warden could only look in complete shock as just these three individuals we're able to quickly ascend to the same platform he was on. The two Foot Ninja near him ran towards Suki and Usagi as they made it up. They clashed their respective swords with the Ninja as Splinter came up and delivered precise neck chops to the Ninja, knocking them out before running straight at the Warden.

He tried to punch Splinter, but he caught the Warden by the wrist before delivering a pressure point right to the Warden's neck.

"What? What are…" He didn't get a chance to finish as the pressure point knocked him out cold.

"How'd you do that?" Suki asked the rat sensei.

"Pressure points." Master Splinter answered as Usagi picked up the unconscious Warden and put him over his shoulder.

"You have got to teach me that sometime." Suki said with an impressed smile as Splinter gave a slight chuckle.

They saw everyone else; Don, Sokka, Zuko, Mikey, Casey, Hakoda, Chit Sang, and Karai all catch up with them.

"We have the Warden. Now lets go!" Usagi stated.

Everyone in the group, with exception of Karai, had to catch their breath. "Very impressive." Karai observed.

"You said it." Don, Mikey, and Sokka all said at the same time.

* * *

Master Splinter was in the lead as he, Don, Zuko, Mikey, Sokka, Casey, Karai, Hakoda, Usagi, Suki, and Chit Sang ran towards the gondola station with Chit Sang holding the unconscious Warden.

"We're almost there!" Usagi stated as the group was getting closer. They however had their path blocked by at least six Foot Ninja.

Zuko stood up front. "Back off! We've got the Warden!"

"Yes, we can see that." One ninja said.

"So, you gonna let us through or what?" Don questioned.

"Why would we do that?" Another ninja questioned.

Sokka looked confused. "Be… because we've got the Warden!"

"You all know by now that he is merely a figure head." A separate ninja informed.

"Yeah, but you need him to keep the prison in control!" Mikey stated.

"As you can see, this prison's already falling apart under his watch." The first ninja told them. "The Warden is expendable, and you are not leaving this place alive!"

Sokka, Mikey, and Don could only look in disbelief while the rest of the group glared. "Now what are we gonna do?" Suki asked.

"We do not have time for this!" Karai stated as she ran forward to engage the Ninja. She unsheathed both her katanas as she sliced and slashed to knock down all six Foot ninja in less than two seconds.

Don, Mikey, Zuko, and Splinter weren't too shocked by this display of swordsmanship; but Suki, Sokka, Usagi, Casey, Hakoda, and Chit Sang looked surprised themselves.

"She's good." Hakoda observed.

"You have no idea." Zuko told him.

"Let's go!" Karai ordered as she led the group past the unconscious ninjas and to the stationed gondola.

Don was the first to open the door. "Everyone in! Quickly!" Don ordered. Mikey was the first to enter, followed by Sokka, Casey, Splinter, Karai, Suki, Hakoda, Usagi, and Chit Sang with the unconscious Warden. Don came in next with Zuko being the one to run to the lever.

Zuko pushed on the lever, causing the gondola to begin its trip up the line. Everyone looked out the window as they saw Zuko beginning to kick the lever. He turned around however and saw a few Fire Nation guards and Foot soldiers running towards him. Zuko gave one more mighty kick to knock the lever clean off before running towards the edge and the ascending gondola.

Zuko jumped straight up to avoid a series of fire balls and shurikens thrown at him. It looked like he might not make it, but Karai reached and caught his hand. Don came over as well and they helped Zuko inside.

"What we're you doing!?" Don questioned.

"I'm making it so they can't stop us." Zuko said as he stood up inside the gondola.

"Way to think ahead." Sokka said an impressed tone.

"That was crazy, Scarface." Casey commented with a smirk. "I'm liking ya more and more!" He gave him a congratulatory noogie.

"Well we did it!" Mikey stated. "We made it onto the gondola, so now it's just smooth sailing."

"I suspect you are becoming overconfident my son." Master splinter told Mikey. "We may not be free yet."

"You are correct." Usagi confirmed as he looked back to the main tower. "Look!" The whole group saw what he was pointing to.

"Oh shell." Don cussed.

Standing at the base, glaring up towards the gondola was none other than Azula, Hun, Hama, and the four Elite Ninja, as well as a reluctant Ty-Lee.

"It's Hun!" Casey glared.

"My sister is there to." Zuko glared as well.

"So are the Foot elite." Karai confirmed.

"But who's that other one?" Hakoda asked. "That woman in blue?"

"Don't know." Sokka shrugged. "Never seen her before."

Karai tried to look. "She is wearing uniform of the Foot, but I do not recognize her."

Azula looked towards the gondola for a moment before she took a pair of handcuffs from a guard and propelled herself straight up with a boost of blue fire. Hama preformed a similar action as she formed two large water-whips around her arms from her water satchels, which she used to grab the cable and propel herself upward.

Ty-Lee and the Elite Ninja jumped onto the cable of the gondola and began to literally run on the wire just as Azula used the handcuffs she borrowed to catch the cable and propel herself forward with her Firebending. Hama was quickly on the cable and bent water around her feet and the cable forming ice, before using her Waterbending to slide straight at the gondola.

Hun stayed back as he didn't have any way to get on the gondola himself. But he smirked.

"This should be entertaining."

As Azula, Ty-Lee, Hama, and the Foot Elite we're quickly catching up to the gondola, Suki glared towards the Elite as they we're the ones who previously kidnapped her and fellow Kyoshi Warriors.

"This is a rematch I've been waiting for."

"Me to." Zuko said in agreement.

"The same goes for me." Karai agreed as well.

"We shall handle this." Master Splinter said as Don, Mikey, Sokka, Zuko, Karai, and Usagi began to climb up to the roof of the Gondola. "The rest of you will stay here." He told Hakoda, Casey, and Chit Sang who nodded in agreement.

As the enemy came ever closer, the heroes all made it to the roof of the moving gondola. Zuko made a Firebending stance, Don drew his staff, Mikey pulled out his nunchucks, Karai drew her dual katanas, Sokka drew his space sword, Suki and Usagi each held their respective katanas, and Master Splinter simply made a combat stance.

The first ones to make it we're Ty-Lee and the Foot Elite as they landed on the backside of the Gondola, facing Suki, Splinter, and Usagi. Meanwhile Azula and Hama made it to the front facing Karai, Zuko, Don, Mikey, and Sokka.

Hama gave a chuckle. "Only two of you? I was hopping to get _all_ of the Turtles."

"Uh… do we know you?" Don asked.

"Oh don't tell me you've all forgotten me, after our little 'full-moon' episode. You all threw me in a cage, just like my brothers and sisters we're all those years ago."

Most of the group seemed confused, but Mikey recognized the tone in her voice. He got a good look in her eyes, and his widened as he recognized the look.

"HAMA?!" Mikey exclaimed, much to the shock of Don and Sokka.

"In the flesh." Hama took an almost seductive pose to show off her new body.

"Who's Hama?" Zuko questioned.

"Short answer. She's a Waterbender and a total psychopath." Don answered.

"But she was an old lady the last time we saw her!" Sokka pointed out. "There's no way this is the same Hama!"

"I assure you Sokka, I am." Hama told him. "So tell me, where's your pretty sister? I'd love to spend some more quality time with her."

That earned a glare from Sokka. "How are you even here? And like this?" Mikey questioned.

"Its thanks to an old friend of yours, Doctor Baxter Stockman." Hama reveled.

Don's eyes widened. "Let me guess. He cloned you a new body and transferred your mind from your old one into this one."

"Bingo." Hama confirmed. "I may not be able to Bloodbend right now, but I'm no longer the same old hag you fought before. I've become a warrior of the Foot, worthy of serving the Shredder, and I will prove how worthy I am!" She finished with an evil chuckle.

As this exchange took place, Karai shared a glance with Ty-Lee who had a look of uncertainty on her face. "I'm not going to lie Karai." Azula began, getting her attention. "I've been looking forward to this."

Karai glared at Azula. "As have I." she held her katanas as Azula took a Firebending stance.

Zuko spoke to his sister. "Azula, I have a question. How stupid are you?"

"What?" Azula angrily questioned.

"You really think the Shredder is trying to help the Fire Nation? You're many things, but you are not an idiot! Use you're head Azula!" Zuko exclaimed.

"You think I'm going to listen to you after what you did to our father?!" Azula questioned.

"That wasn't me!"

"I've had enough!" Azula shouted as she shot a blue fire at Zuko, which he intercepted with his own fireball, beginning the fight.

Hama formed two water-whips at her arms as she lunged them towards Sokka; Sokka blocked one whip with his sword as Don twirled his staff to intercept the other whip.

Suki used her katana to block the axe-strike of one Elite Ninja as she tried to palm thrust to his face, but he jumped back. The Elite Ninja with the trident tried to attack her from behind, but Usagi intercepted it with his katana as he began to parry weapons with the ninja. Mikey twirled his nunchucks defensively to keep the remaining two Elite Ninja at bay as they tried to come at him with the staff and double bladed sword respectively.

As this all happened, Ty-Lee just stood there and watched with a conflicted look on her face.

Azula shot another fireball towards Zuko; Karai was able to slice it down with one of her katanas before thrusting her sword at Azula, forcing her to limbo back close to the edge. Hama froze the water in her right hand and sent out several circular ice-blades towards Don and Sokka who struggled to intercept all of them with staff and sword respectively. Hama went on the offensive with a series of icicles, but Master Splinter came in and quickly took them all down with multiple quick chops from only his bare hands.

Hama could only look in shock before Splinter came in and delivered a kick to Hama to send her reeling back into Azula. The two stumbled but regained their footing so that they wouldn't fall off the gondola.

Usagi, Suki, and Mikey continued to battle back the Foot Elite and it seemed like an evenly matched fight as they all paried their respective weapons. Mikey ducked under an axe-slice from one Elite Ninja before kicking him back, problem was, he slammed into the distracted Ty-Lee. Mikey's eyes widened as it looked like she would fall off the gondola.

Ty-Lee was about to scream, but Mikey quickly caught her hand before she fell. "I got ya!" He told her.

Ty-Lee looked surprised but grateful. "Thanks I…" She saw something behind him. "Behind you!"

Mikey saw the Elite with the trident trying to impale him, but in one quick motion, Mikey threw Ty-Lee straight up, where she landed on top of the gondola's metal extension safely, and Mikey quickly used the chain of his nunchucks to block the trident from the Elite Ninja before he pulled back his feet and kicked the Elite away. Mikey then jumped up to the metal extension to meet Ty-Lee face to face.

"Thanks." He said.

"Yeah, now we're even." She said with an honest smile.

"I don't think we've been formally introduced." Mikey said as the battles continued below. "It's Ty-Lee right?" She nodded. "I'm Mikey."

"'Mikey'. That's a nice name." She said with a smile.

"Yeah, you seem pretty nice to." Mikey said before he turned serious. "Too nice to be hanging around whack jobs like Azula and Hama, and definitely not the kind of chick to work for someone like Shredder."

Ty-Lee once again had a conflicted look on her face. "Well it's just… I…"

"You're friends with Zuko and Karai, aren't ya?" Mikey asked, to which Ty-Lee nodded. "So why not come with us?"

This caught Ty-Lee by surprise. "Seriously, you seem like a good person. You don't have to work for the bad guys."

As Mikey tried to talk with Ty-Lee, Master Splinter was facing both Azula and Hama at the same time as he used a palm-thrust to disperse a blue-fire ball and jump over a water-whip. He landed a kick on Hama before grabbing Azula by her wrist as she tried to shoot a fireball at him and tossing her over to Hama. Splinter jumped up toward them as he landed in between, he grabbed them both by the wrist and slammed their heads into each other, causing them both to real back.

As Splinter held back both Hama and Azula; Don, Sokka, Zuko, Karai, Usagi, and Suki we're getting the upper hand on the Elite Ninja as they outnumbered them six to four. The Elite we're on the defensive end as they fought back the swords and staff strikes, but Zuko was the one who kept them back the most with his Firebending.

* * *

Hun saw all of this through a spyglass back on the main tower. He did not like the fact that his side was loosing as he growled. He turned to the guards and Ninja.

"Cut the line!" Hun ordered.

"What?" A guard questioned. "But the Warden is still up there, plus the princess and…." Hun punched the guard away with his large fist. He then turned to the rest.

"I said cut the line. NOW!" Hun exclaimed.

A few moments later, a selection of Ninja got a pair of large metal rods and jammed them into the wheel containing the suspension line, in an attempt to slow it down.

Hun smirked. "Lets see if those freaks survive this."

* * *

Back on the Gondola; Master Splinter continued to hold back both Hama and Azula as everyone else surrounded the Elite Ninja. But the gondola came to a screeching halt. It rocked back and forth and caused most of the people on the roof to loose their balance.

Ty-Lee held her grip, but Mikey looked like he was ready to fall, fortunately Ty-Lee grabbed his wrist and pulled him back up.

Sokka looked ready to slide off, but Karai caught him to keep him on board as everyone tried to maintain his or her balance.

"What the shell was that?" Mikey questioned.

Ty-Lee looked past Mikey back to the main tower. "They're about to cut the line!" She exclaimed, it was mostly to Karai and Mikey as they, and their friends looked in shock. However; the Elite Ninja, Azula, and Hama heard this as well, thinking this warning was directed to them as Azula saw a few guards with a large saw cutting away at the line.

Azula looked and saw an incoming gondola from the station at the other side and smirked. "Then its time to leave."

She propelled herself straight up with plums of blue fire. "Goodbye Zuko." She said to her brother as she landed on the moving gondola. Hama smirked towards the Turtles triumphantly as she also propelled herself up with water from her feet like a springboard. The Elite Ninja vanished in a plume of smoke and reappeared on the other gondola as well. Ty-Lee simply performed a long flip as she landed with the villains on the moving gondola.

Ty-Lee made eye contact one last time with Karai and Mikey before a sad look formed on her face as the heroes got back into their gondola.

"How come we ain't moving?!" Casey questioned as they all jumped in.

"They're cutting the line!" Mikey exclaimed. "We're gonna fall!"

"I hope this thing floats." Hakoda hoped as they all looked down to the boiling water below.

"Uh… Don. Can this thing float?" Sokka asked the purple-clad Turtle.

"Best guess… No."

* * *

Back on the gondola station, the two guards with the saw had almost cut their way through the entire line, Hun smirked, but his smirk vanish when he saw a pair of knives hit the guards and pin them to the wall.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Hun questioned to the knife thrower.

"Saving the jerk who dumped me." Mai answered.

Hun growled before he ran towards her. Mai let a knife fall from her sleeve before she jumped up and kicked Hun in the face and sent a series of blades straight towards a series of oncoming guards, pinning them towards a nearby wall. A few Foot ninja tried to rush her, but she back flipped out of the way and threw many blades at them to knock their weapons out of their hands before coming in with several kicks and punches to knock them all down.

Mai jumped back to avoid a flying punch from Hun. As she landed she kicked up a stray katana to her right hand as she used her left to throw a knife straight at Hun, which grazed his face, giving him a cut below his left eye.

Hun glared before he picked up his own stray katana. He roared as he charged and tried to slash at Mai who blocked it with the katana she was using. Mai slashed at him, but he blocked it with his own blade. As he made a horizontal swing, she ducked under it and pulled both her feet back and slammed them into Hun's chest to send him tumbling back into the line, knocking the rods out of the wheel, and thereby get the gondola to move again.

* * *

Everyone on the now moving gondola looked in surprise. Not just at the fact the gondola was moving, but that someone else was helping them.

"Who is that?" Usagi questioned.

Zuko got a good look as the woman he loved glanced in his direction. "It's Mai."

* * *

"What is she doing?!" Azula angrily questioned as she, Hama, the Elite Ninja, and Ty-Lee saw Mai fight off the Foot soldiers.

"Someone's got a problem with authority it looks like." Hama observed.

"Mai." Ty-Lee whispered.

Before anything else was said, the four Elite Ninja vanished again in a plume of smoke only to reappear surrounding Mai. She sighed, as she knew she couldn't beat them, so she simply raised her hands.

* * *

The gondola had successfully made it to the station on the outer rim of the volcano. The door opened as Don, Sokka, Zuko, Casey, Hakoda, Usagi, Mikey, Karai, and Suki ran out. Splinter was the last one as he saw Chit Sang still carry the unconscious Warden. Splinter pointed inside the gondola, giving Chit Sang the signal to toss him in and leave him there.

"Okay, we made it out. Now what?" Suki questioned.

Zuko stopped and briefly looked back at the prison in the middle of the boiling lake. "Zuko, what are you doing?" Sokka asked.

"My sister was on that island." Zuko stated as the group looked towards him.

"Yeah, so was that whack job Hama, along with Hun and some super pissed off Ninja, so let's get going!" Mikey urged.

"What I mean is she must have come here somehow." Zuko said for clarification.

"Zuko is right!" Karai exclaimed, getting everyone's attention as she looked down to the docks below. "That is our way out of here!"

Everyone looked down and saw the Foot Helicopter on the docks. Casey smirked. "So, we're busting out of jail _and_ getting a free chopper? Sweet!"

* * *

 _Boiling Rock_

The Elite Ninja held Mai tightly as Azula faced her on the other end. Ty-Lee was close to Azula while Hun and Hama we're a distance away.

Hama saw the smirk on Hun's face. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Yep." He told her, causing Hama to smirk as well.

Azula glared at Mai. "Leave us alone." The Elite Ninja nodded as they walked away.

It was a brief moment of silence. "I never expected this from you." Azula stated.

During this tense moment, Ty-Lee held her mouth with quivering eyes as she remembered something Mikey told her.

" _Seriously, you seem like a good person. You don't have to work for the bad guys."_

"The only thing I don't understand is why. Why would you do it? You know the consequences." Azula told Mai.

Mai looked directly into Azula's eyes. "It's because I'm not a puppet like you. Do you honestly think the Shredder is really helping us? Wake up Azula, he had you pegged for hired help the moment he met you."

That earned a look of rage from Azula. "You dare… YOU DARE?! I AM NO PUPPET!" Azula was ready to strike Mai, who was ready to fight back.

However, before Azula could strike out, Ty-Lee quickly came in with a couple of jabs to block Azula's chi. Mai looked in honest surprise, even Hun and Hama we're caught off guard by this.

As Azula fell, Ty-Lee ran to her best friend. "Come on! Lets get out of here!" Before they could do anything though, Hama quickly bent water around their arms and bodies and froze it, effectively tying them up in ice as they both fell over bound.

"You two aren't going anywhere!" Hama stated as the Elite Ninja helped up the paralyzed Azula who had a look of anger and disbelief on her face.

Hun kneeled down to the two bound girls. "Guess you two are just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"I'm not afraid of Azula, what makes you think I'm afraid of you?" Mai questioned to Hun who still maintained his smirk.

"Lets see if you can still talk tough as you explain this treachery to the master."

Ty-Lee had a look of fear in her eyes, and even Mai looked somewhat intimidated.

* * *

 _Western Air Temple_

It was nighttime as Katara held herself up in her room. She hadn't come out after she hurt Leo. The only one who was present was her so-called mother, still as a transparent spirit coming from a bowl of water.

"I just…." Katara stuttered. "I didn't want to hurt him! I don't know what came over me! I just.. I just lost control!" She held her face.

"No, this is good, Katara."

This forced a look of shock as the Waterbender looked toward her 'mother'. "Mom I… How can you say that? He was my friend!"

"Friends trust each other, Katara." 'Kya' began. "And he made it clear he doesn't trust you."

"But… he's… he's not the enemy." Katara tried. "Shredder is."

"Is he?" 'Kya' asked.

"What are you talking about?" Katara questioned.

"Your enemy was the Fire Nation." 'Kya' said. "It was the Fire Nation who started this war. It was the Fire Nation who wiped out the Air Nomads. It was the Fire Nation that took me away from you. But, the Shredder defeated the Fire Nation. He had succeeded what everyone else in this world failed to do for the last hundred years."

"Yeah but…"

"The Shredder is not the enemy. He is our ally." 'Kya' told her.

"No… I can't believe that!" Katara stated. "After what he did to Aang…."

"The Avatar is outdated. An immature child with no real home or family. He couldn't defeat the Fire Nation even if he tried, and he did try many times." 'Kya' said. "If he couldn't defeat the primitive Fire Nation, what makes you think he can possibly defeat the Shredder?"

Katara's eyes trembled as she heard her mother's voice continue to speak like this. "No. This can't be true! It can't be!"

"Why fight the Shredder when you can join him?" 'Kya' continued to speak in an almost taunting tone.

"Stop! Stop it!" Katara stood up as she held her head and tired to cover her ears.

"You and the Shredder are the same! You belong by his side! Embrace who you are Katara! Become the killer you we're always mean to be!"

"STOP IT!" Katara used her Waterbending to throw away the water and the image of 'Kya' that continued to taunt her. Katara then fell to her knees alone in her room as tears fell from her eyes.

"No…" She cried. "I'm not like him. I'm not like him." She repeated. "I'm not like him."

"Katara."

She slowly turned to see Aang in the doorway. Katara turned around, as she didn't have the courage to face him. "Go away Aang."

He ignored her as he slowly walked in and tried to place a hand on her shoulder.

"How?" She began. "How can you… be so… nice? How can you still let me stay here after what I did?"

"It was an accident, right?" Aang tried.

"No it wasn't." Katara said, as she didn't even face Aang, her hair covering her tear-filled eyes. "He's… he's like a brother and I… I… I never wanted to hurt him."

Aang looked in sympathy as he kneeled down to her level. "You let your anger get out of control. It happens. Katara, you're not alone. You can talk to all of us. We're your friends, you're family."

She looked towards Aang with teary eyes as she quickly pulled him into a hug and let her tears flow as she buried her head into his chest. Aang did what he could to comfort her. Obviusly there we're still some issues to work out, but they'd get to that later.

"Um… guys."

They both looked to see April coming in. "I hate to interrupt this, but we've got company."

* * *

Leo had some bandages wrapped around his wound. It wasn't anything too serious, but it still hurt quite a bit as Raph and Toph helped him outside to the courtyard. April, Aang, and Katara joined them. The moment Raph saw Katara he glared at her, causing her to look away in shame.

They all looked up to see a helicopter coming in. Everyone backed up as they saw it land a few feet in front of them in the courtyard. The cockpit opened up.

"What's up my brothers and sisters!" Mikey greeted enthusiastically as he, Don, Zuko, and Karai got outside to greet the surprised group.

"What the shell? How'd you guys score a helicopter?" Raph questioned. "What happened to the war balloon?"

"It kind of got destroyed." Zuko answered.

"Sounds like one heck of a fishing trip." April said.

Don noticed the bandages his oldest brother was wearing. "Leo, are you okay? What happened?"

"A training accident." Leo dismissed. "Don't worry, it's nothing to worry about" Katara looked away in partial shame, not just at hurting Leo but the fact that he was able to cover for her, despite what she just did.

"So, did you guys get some good meat?" Toph asked.

"We did." Sokka answered. "The best meat of all. The meat of friendship and fatherhood."

The cargo bay of the helicopter opened up as Suki, Master Splinter, Hakoda, Casey, Usagi, and Chit Sang walked out to join the group.

"I'm new. What's up everybody." Chit Sang greeted in a friendly manner.

Katara couldn't believe her eyes. "Dad." Tears of joy fell from her eyes.

"Hi Katara." He greeted his daughter as she ran up and gave him a big hug.

"Master Splinter!" Leo and Raph exclaimed at the same time as they ran up to their sensei with an embrace of their own.

"My sons, it is good to see you, to." Splinter winced at the crushing embrace. "Please, my spine." They released their hug.

"Casey!" April ran up and not only gave him a hug, but a kiss on the cheek as well. "I've missed up so much."

"I missed you too babe." Casey hugged back.

Leo smiled as he gave Usagi a bow, who returned a bow as well. Leo then looked towards Karai. "Okay, where did you guys go really?" He humoredly asked.

"We broke into a maximum security Fire Nation prison." Karai answered.

At this heartwarming moment the only one who could ruin it spoke up. "Seriously, you guys didn't bring any meat?" Toph questioned.

This earned a laugh from everyone present. Don was the first to look serious though. "We also got some bad meat as well."

"What do you mean by that?" Aang asked.

"Hama's back." Mikey stated.

This caught Leo, Aang, Raph, and Toph by surprise, and Katara had her own look of horror on her face.

"What?!" Leo questioned.

"Who's Hama?" April asked.

"A borderline vampire Waterbender." Raph answered. "And a deranged old hag."

"Not anymore." Karai said, getting everyone' attention. "Dr. Stockman was able to clone her a younger body and transfer her mind into it. This Hama character is far stronger than the last time you've faced her. And my father has her paired with Azula."

"Azula and Hama together?" Toph stated. "Well that can't be good."

"No. That's not good at all." Leo agreed.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se; Foot Central Command_

Mai and Ty-Lee we're forced to their knees by the Foot Elite as they, Hun, and Hama walked into the personal quarters of Oroku Saki. Dr. Chaplin was also present as he looked in surprise.

" _Oh this can't be good."_ Chaplin thought.

Oroku Saki looked questionably at this situation. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Master Shredder." Hun began. "We encountered two of the Turtles, as well as both Karai and Zuko at the Boiling Rock as you predicted. But these two little traitors helped them to escape with a number of prisoners, including the Turltes' rat master."

Chaplin had a bad idea of where this might go as he reached into his lab coat pocket for a certain remote, just in case.

Oroku Saki looked towards Hama. "Is this true?"

"It is, Master Shredder." Hama confirmed.

Oroku Saki then looked towards Mai and Ty-Lee. The pink-clad acrobat looked very frightened, and while Mai was glaring at the evil ninjitsu master, she to felt fear deep in her heart.

"You two betray the Foot?"

"Of course! You're pure evil!" Ty-Lee practically screamed at him. "You we're the one who killed Fire Lord Ozai! You framed Zuko and Karai!"

"So you know." Oroku Saki mussed. "You are aware of just what I am capable of, and what I have done, and yet you still decide to stand against me? Are you aware of what I do to my enemies?"

Mai looked towards Oroku Saki in the eye. "I guess you don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Zuko, more than I fear you."

That struck comment struck a nerve in Oroku Saki as his eyes slightly widened before he glared right at her.

"Ouch." Chaplin winced, even he felt that one.

"A very poor mistake on your part." Oroku Saki stated angrily as he picked up a clawed gauntlet form his desk. "One the two of you will now take to your graves!"

Hun and Hama smirked as the two Fire Nation girls looked frightened. Before he could raise it however, Chaplin hit a button on his hidden remote, triggering a brief EMP that knocked out the lights.

"What the hell!?" Hun questioned.

"Who turned out the lights?!" Hama questioned as well.

The lights then suddenly came back on. Oroku Saki looked in surprise to see that both Mai and Ty-Lee we're gone. The Elite we're taken aback as the two girls just there.

"Where'd they go!?" Hama exclaimed.

"Go! Find them!" Oroku Saki ordered. "Do not allow them to escape!"

With that, the Elite Ninja, Hama, and Hun left the chambers of the enraged Oroku Saki, who didn't even notice that Chaplin was gone as well.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in an empty hallway, Chaplin had pulled both Mai and Ty-Lee away.

"Okay, we should be safe here." He said. "Now listen, I…" Before he could finish, Mai grabbed his collar with one hand and pinned him to the wall as she held a knife in her other hand.

"What's your game, here? What do you want?" Mai demanded to the startled Chaplin.

"Mai wait, it's okay!" Ty-Lee tried to stop her friend. "He's a good guy. I can see it in his aura."

"Don't worry, I'm a friend." Chaplin assured. "I work for Karai." That caught both their attention. "I'm a double agent who's giving her information about the Shredder and what he's up to. I'm on your side, I swear!"

Mai looked to Ty-Lee who read his aura. "He's telling the truth."

She let Chaplin go. "Sorry."

"Forget it." Chaplin said as he straightened himself up.

"Hey, thanks for saving us back there." Ty-Lee thanked with a smile.

"Yeah, no problem." Chaplin began. "I don't have much time so listen carefully. The Shredder knows where Karai and her friends are and is going to attack first thing tomorrow."

"What?" Mai questioned.

"What are we going to do?" Ty-Lee worriedly asked

"You want to help Karai?" Chaplin asked, and they nodded. "Then go to the docking bay where the Foot Carrier is. Hide in its cargo-hold and you'll get a free ride to where Karai is. Tell her that Dr. Chaplin sent her."

"Why are you helping us?" Mai asked. "We barley know each other."

"Karai told me about you guys." Chaplin answered. "And any friend of hers is a friend of mine."

"But why help Karai?" Mai asked as well. "Why turn your back on Shredder?"

Ty-Lee, once again, got a good look at his aura before a smile formed on her face. "It's cause he _likes_ her."

"Really?" Mai questioned with a sly smirk, causing Chaplin to blush.

"We… We don't have time for this. Go!"

"Okay, thanks." Mai thanked.

"Yeah, thanks a lot." Ty-Lee thanked as well as they ran down one hall. Chaplin made sure they remained out of sight before he went off in a separate direction to mislead the Foot Elite.

* * *

Meanwhile, Azula was walking down the halls of the Foot Central Command building to her own personal room to get some rest. As she walked alone, certain words that Zuko and Mai spoke to her kept ringing in her head….

" _You really think the Shredder is trying to help the Fire Nation? You're many things, but you are not an idiot! Use you're head Azula!"_

" _It's because I'm not a puppet like you. Do you honestly think the Shredder is really helping us? Wake up Azula, he had you pegged for hired help the moment he met you."_

"That can't be true." Azula weakly spoke to herself. "I'm not a puppet… am I?" As she opened the door to her room, an overwhelming stench entered her nose and she quickly covered.

"Great Sozin! What is that rancid odor?!" Azula questioned the stink as she held her nose and mouth.

It was coming from none other than the Dark Turtles that we're waiting for Azula in her own room.

"What's your problem, sister? Smells like home to me." Dark Mikey said with a grin.

"What are you…. Freaks all doing here?!" Azula questioned to the Dark Turtles.

"We heard how your friends ended up ditching you, so the Shredder is now having us work with you and Hama from now on." Dark Don answered.

"So be nice." Dark Raph warned as he walked to Azula. "We had to crawl out of a freaking chasm and walk most of the way here!"

He pointed his finger/talon at her, which Azula bated away. "Don't you dare threaten me you hideous…"

"I wouldn't go there." Dark Mikey advised. "He's been sensitive about his looks lately."

"Shut up!" Azula exclaimed.

"Cool it princess." Dark Leo told her. "Since you and Hama are gonna be working with us from now on, its best you keep a cool head. Especially since we're gonna be paying your brother, the Turltes, and all their friends a little visit tomorrow morning."

 **Done.**

 **Once again, thank you all for waiting. This was a chapter with a lot of characters to work with. I hope you all like it.**

 **So it seems the prison break was successful. Master Splinter, Suki, Casey, Hakoda, Usagi, and even Chit Sang have all been liberated and reunited with Team Avatar and the Ninja Turtles. And they get a free helicopter to boot.**

 **And it looks like that Chaplin is helping Mai and Ty-Lee to reunite with Zuko and Karai the next time they see them, which will be in the next chapter.**

 **However, on the negative side, the Dark Turtles are back and are now paired with Azula and Hama, which will spell all sorts of trouble for our heroes.**

 **And what could be even worse, Katara has let her anger reach its max as she lashed out and hurt Leo. Things are going to be slightly different in the next chapter 'The Southern Raiders'.**

 **What'll happen next for our heroes? Find out next time on Worlds Collide.**

 **On a side note, I will be working on my other stories so it may be a bit before the next update comes in so please be patient with me.**


	29. The Southern Raiders

**Hi everyone. Thank you so much for your patience. Sorry for the wait, I have received many more hours of work, and with school starting back up for me, plus other stories to work on, I've been having difficulty finding time to work on Worlds Collide. Rest assured, I have every intention of going forward with it. Thanks so much for waiting, I'm sure you're all looking forward to this particular chapter. So lets get started**

 **The Southern Raiders**

It was dawn at the Western Air Temple, as everyone lay asleep in this campsite. Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki, Zuko, Karai, April, Casey, Usagi, Chit Sang, Hakoda, Teo, the Duke, and Haru we're asleep on the ground with their sleeping bags. Meanwhile, Aang laid on the sleeping Appa, and Master Splinter was in a meditative position in the daylight. However, the rat master's eyes shot open as he sensed something.

"Avatar! Wake up!" Splinter stated.

Aang was startled awake, along with Appa. "What? What is it?"

Less than a second later, a missile came down from the sky directly towards them. Getting his barrings, Aang picked up his staff and used his Airbending to pull the missile and circle it around him and send it back out, where it exploded in the air. Several more missiles and gunfire shot down from the sky around the Western Air Temple. The resulting explosions woke up everyone in the camp.

"What the shell is going on?!" Raph questioned as they woke up.

Aang and Splinter both ran to the edge and looked up to see the massive Foot Carrier descending down from the sky and firing missiles down around the area on the temple.

Aang and Splinter ran back in. "What's going on?" Leo questioned.

"The Foot found us." Splinter answered as Aang using Airbending to close the doors around the doors to seal the area everyone was inside.

* * *

 _Foot Carrier Bridge_

Dr. Stockman was at the command with several Foot technicians working at the controls.

"Sir. We have the enemy located." One technician reported.

"Fire around the area. Flush them out." Stockman ordered.

"Yes sir."

* * *

More missiles fired around the sealed area where all the heroes we're hiding in. The missile's firepower was definitely more than the ancient temple could handle as it continued to shake and rock.

Several pieces of the ceiling began to crumble as a large piece of debris fell down towards a certain Waterbender.

"Look out!" Karai tackled Katara out of the way before the debris could crush her.

"What are you doing?!" Katara questioned.

"Preventing you from being crushed." Karai responded.

"Okay, I'm not crushed. You can get off me now." Katara rudely said as she got up. Karai chose not to respond to Katara's ungratefulness.

Toph and Haru both used their Earthbending to create a large tunnel at the back wall for everyone to escape.

"Come on! We can get out through here!" Toph pointed down the tunnel.

"You heard her! Let's go!" Don ordered as everyone tried to file in through the hole. Aang meanwhile struggled to pull Appa in by the reigns into the tunnel; he looked to see both Karai and Zuko walking towards the closed and crumbling gates.

"What are you guys doing?!"

"Go ahead! We'll hold them off!" Zuko told everyone.

"We know exactly who's here, and you must keep the Sword of Tengu away from him!" Karai stated as she picked up the sheathed sword and threw it to Aang as she and Zuko ran.

Aang caught the sword but was still surprised to see them run off. "Zuko! Karai! No!"

Sokka, Leo, and Katara came towards Aang. "Come on! We have to get out of here!" Sokka stated as they tried to pull Appa's reigns. However they looked in surprise to see Master Splinter running to join the two redeemed warriors.

"Master Splinter! What are you doing?!" Leo questioned.

"Go! I will help Zuko and Karai!"

Before anyone could protest the rat sensei he had already joined Zuko and Karai as the three leaped through the hole of the collapsing gate and out into the collapsing courtyard where they saw the massive Foot Carrier hovering over them.

"We must get onto the deck!" Karai stated.

Zuko got an idea. "Both of you hold onto me." Splinter and Karai held onto Zuko as he shot large pillars of flame from both his hands and feet that propelled all three straight up.

They flew up quite a distance before Zuko's flames went out and they rolled onto the massive deck of the Foot Carrier, which bore a striking resemblance to the deck of a navy aircraft carrier.

As they got up, they looked around to see several Foot Ninja come up onto the deck via elevated platforms. Along with them included the Foot Elite who appeared in a large plume of smoke. At the top of a satellite tower jumped down all four Dark Turtles, each of them baring an evil laugh. Another platform elevated onto the deck to reveal none other than Azula, Hama, and Hun as all three smirked evilly.

Karai, Zuko, and Master Splinter circled up as they glared at all their enemies. Zuko looked towards his sister.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned.

"You mean it's not obvious? I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child!" Azula replied.

"Yeah! It's payback time!" Dark Mikey chuckled as he laughed maniacally.

"No! They are mine!"

Splinter, Zuko, and Karai looked to see a crowd of Foot Ninja clear the way to reveal the Shredder himself who was leading this mission. All three glared as he walked forward.

"Shredder." Splinter growled.

Shredder glared back with his red eyes at Zuko, Karai, and Splinter, some of the foes that he hatted the most; Splinter for being one to defeat him quite a few times, Zuko and Karai for leaving and joining his enemies.

"My friends, I had lone anticipated this moment." Shredder stated as he raised his claws.

"I'm surprised with your _genius_ it took you this long to find us." Zuko shot back.

With nothing else needing to be said; Shredder leaped high and directly at the three; forcing them to scatter. Zuko rolled before coming up and shooting several fireballs directly at Shredder. He braced himself as the flames bounced off his armor before he charged at Zuko who ducked to avoid a slice from his claws. Karai then came in from behind and kicked the Shredder on his back to force him to Zuko who responded with a flaming kick across the face. But Shredder was able to come back and grab Zuko's leg before he pulled it back. He threw Zuko towards Karai and the two rolled for a bit, but Shredder's victory was short lived as Splinter came in with a palm thrust to knock Shredder back.

The two glared at each other. "How many times must we do this, rat?" Shredder questioned.

"As many times until my Master Yoshi has been avenged!" Splinter declared before he and Shredder leaped at each other and met in mid-air.

As the two fell, they exchanged and parried several punches and kicks, but none connected as the two moved at blinding speed. They landed on the ground roughly as Shredder kicked Splinter back. He rolled a bit, but found a spare metal rod and picked it up to block Shredder's incoming slash. Splinter parried the clawed gauntlet before he slammed the rod across Shredder's face to knock him back.

Zuko and Karai both got up to face all the remaining enemy forces, each thinking of his or her own way to make the two suffer.

"This is gonna be good." Hama muttered as she created two water-whips around her arms as the Dark Turltes drew their respective weapons.

"I call dibs on cracking Zuko's skull!" Dark Raph exclaimed.

Before anything else could happen, the bad guys all heard the sounds of battle erupting behind them and looked in shock to see several Foot ninja fall on the ground. Ty-Lee ran as fast as she could, chi-blocking all the ninja around her and causing them to fall on the ground.

Several ninja tried to jump Ty-Lee with their katanas, but all their swords we're knocked out of their hands by a series of knives that Mai tossed as she ran towards them and performed a fast roundhouse to knock them all back. They both leaped into the air and landed by the surprised duo.

"Hey guys." Ty-Lee greeted with a smile.

"Mai?! Ty-Lee?!" Zuko questioned in shock.

"How… how are you…?" Karai stuttered.

"Long story. We'll tell you after we kick all their butts." Mai responded as they faced the surprised looks of the enemy.

Among the most surprised was Azula, but her look turned into a deep scowl as she remembered how her so-called friends turned on her. She was the first to attack by blasting a column of blue flame directly at them.

* * *

While the fighting continued on top of the Foot Carrier's deck, the collapse of the Western Air Temple continued as several missiles and energy blasts we're shot around the area that the heroes we're barricaded in.

Toph and Haru we're both able to create a large earth-dome around the group to keep the rubble from crashing onto them.

"Come on! We need to go! Why aren't we going?!" Mikey quickly questioned.

Aang, Leo, Sokka, and Katara tried to pull Appa's reigns, but he refused to budge. "I can't get him to go in there! Appa hates tunnels!" Aang stated.

"You've gotta be freaking kidding me!" Casey exclaimed.

Leo sighed. "Looks like we'll have to fight our way out of here."

"What? Leo we can't fly through there!" Katara exclaimed.

"We have to!" Leo responded. "Master Splinter, Zuko, and Karai are out there, risking their lives to help us and I am not abandoning them!"

"Leo's right." Aang agreed. "Plus we have the Sword of Tengu. We can do this."

"Then we'll have to split up." Don said. "We're too big a group to escape. All Turtles and members of Team Avatar board Appa."

"Hang on, I'm going with you guys!" Casey stated as he walked forward with his bag of sports gear and his hockey mask on.

"So am I." April agreed as she joined them.

"Me to." Suki walked forward as well.

"Alright." Sokka said as he turned to the group consisting of Hakoda, Usagi, Chit Sang, Teo, the Duke, and Haru. "Take the tunnel and get to the stolen helicopter."

"We're the Foot's main targets." Leo said as well. "We'll keep them busy while you all escape."

"Very well." Usagi said as he bowed. "We will meet again, my brother."

Leo bowed as well. "Yes, we will. Good luck Usagi."

The only one who didn't seem to be in agreement was Katara. "No! The Foot cannot separate our family again!" She said as she walked close to her father.

Hakoda placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "It'll be okay. It's not forever."

"Katara, it's the only way." Mikey told her.

Katara knew deep down that they we're right. She gave her father a hug before running back towards Appa. Sokka hugged Hakoda as well before he and Usagi led their group down the tunnel.

Leo, Raph, Katara, Sokka, Mikey, Don, Suki, Casey, and April all mounted Appa's saddle, along with Momo, while Aang slung the Sword of Tengu on his back and got onto Appa's head and took the reigns.

Toph felt the rock barricade in front of them. "I can clear that away and we can fly out through there." She said as she used her Earthbending to propel herself up onto Appa.

"Okay, so we gotta move quick." Leo said. "We'll go in; grab Zuko, Karai, and Master Splinter, then high tail it out of here."

"Uh, you do know that there's a giant flying metal ship out there, right?" Suki reminded.

"We'll get through." Aang declared. "Let's go."

* * *

 _Foot Carrier's Upper Deck._

Zuko, Karai, Ty-Lee, and Mai we're on the defensive end as they continued to struggle against the combined efforts of Azula, Hama, Hun, the Dark Turtles, and the Foot Elite.

Zuko and Mai threw fire-balls and knives respectively; but Hama was able to catch them with her Waterbending as Azula shot more streams of blue-fire, forcing Karai to leap to the front and bat them away with her duel katanas.

The four we're backed towards the edge of the Foot Carrier as they saw the deep chasm below.

"That's a long way down." Ty-Lee gulped.

"Déjà vu, huh Scarface?" Dark Don taunted Zuko.

"Yeah, you tossed us down that hole!" Dark Raph exclaimed.

"And now it's your turn." Dark Leo stated as all eleven enemies slowly approached them.

At the same time; Master Splinter continued to battle Shredder as they parried claws against metal rod. Both seemed evenly matched as Splinter twirled the rod and thrusted it towards Shredder but he swerved out of the way and used his claws to slice it in half. Splinter jumped back as he twirled the two smaller rods in his hands and still held them. He looked back to see the predicament Zuko and the three young women we're in and knew this situation looked grim.

That is, until a loud and familiar roar came from the sky as Appa was soaring down towards the upper deck.

"Go! Go! Go!" Leo ordered as Appa curved upward and everyone else jumped down against the enemy forces causing them to clash.

Leo and Aang both landed by Splinter's side as Leo was the first one to charge straight at Shredder with both his katanas but the Shredder caught them in between his blades; this left him open however for Aang to thrust his hands forward and hit Shredder directly with an Airbending blast to send Shredder rolling across the ground.

Zuko jumped forward and shot several fireballs directly at Dark Leo, who was still caught by surprise by the sudden arrival of reinforcements, and was unable to deflect the balls, causing him to be blasted back by the impact.

Karai went straight for Azula as she tried to shoot a stream of blue fire at her, only for Karai to duck and sweep her feet to knock Azula down. Karai tried to slice her sword down onto Azula, but she back flipped out of the way. The two glared at each other before they clashed once again.

As soon as Toph landed in front of Dark Raph, he tried to charge at her, but she used her Metalbending to pry a large piece of metal off the deck and block a strike from his talon-knuckle. She then wrapped the metal around her arms in the form of metal gauntlets, which she used to beat Dark Raph across the face.

Don twirled his staff as he blocked the claw strikes from Dark Don. When Don attempted to go on the offensive with his staff, Dark Don blocked it with his wrist-guards. As the two locked; Suki quickly came in and landed a kick right at Dark Don's face, which allowed Don to slam his staff across his clone's body, knocking him back.

Mikey swung his nunchucks to parry the clubs used by Dark Mikey as the evil clone continued to laugh.

"Dude, I am so sick of that laugh!" Mikey complained as he purposely fell back, pulling his clone with him. Mikey then used his feet to flip/kick Dark Mikey over him and send him flying across the deck of the Foot-Carrier.

Katara tried to bend water at a certain enemy, only for Hama to pull it away with her Waterbending.

"Hello Katara." Hama sadistically greeted. "It's been a while."

A chill fell down Katara's spine as she recognized her. "Hama?"

"Yes." She greeted with an evil smile before thrusting her tentacles at Katara. The young Waterbender tried to defend herself, but as she did, her mind flashed back to when she struck Leo, which caused Katara to stumble and allow Hama to wrap her water tentacles around Katara and pull her in close.

"What's the matter Katara?" Hama taunted as she saw Katara's terrified face. "Are you afraid of me? You should be."

When it looked like Hama was about to strike, Raph quickly fell down and used a kick to knock back Hama, forcing her to let go of Katara.

"Katara, get your head in the game!" Raph told her as she was trying to recover.

"Finally!" Hama stated as she got up to face Raph. "I've waited a long time for this, reptile."

Raph smirked. "Hama? I almost didn't recognize ya. New haircut?" He joked, which caused Hama to scowl as she thruster her water-whips at Raph, who took out the axe that Traximus gave him as he used it to block and slice away the tentacles shot at him.

"Goongala!" Casey shouted as he ran at Hun with a baseball bat in his right hand, and a golf club in his left. Hun tried to punch Casey, but he caught his wrist with the golf club which he used to turn Hun's momentum against him in order to flip him over. Hun growled as he got up.

"Hockey season's over vigilante!" Hun growled.

"Yeah? Well baseball's _in_ season!" Casey said behind his hockey mask as he used his baseball bat to smack Hun across the face, only for him to reel back with a punch to knock Casey back, but Casey quickly got up to charge Hun again.

Meanwhile; the four Elite Ninja charged at April, Mai, Ty-Lee, and Sokka. Sokka blocked a strike from the one with the axe, by using his space-sword as April used her katana to parry the spear-strikes from the second Elite Ninja. Ty-Lee used her nimble agility to avoid the swipes from the Elite Ninja with the double-bladed sword as Mai used two knives to block the trident thrust from the fourth Elite Ninja as the four found them circling up to face the Elite. They ended up looking at eachothers almost awkwardly.

"So uh… hi there." Ty-Lee tried.

"Yeah, this is awkward." Sokka said.

"Right. How often do you see old enemies working together?" Mai asked skeptically.

"We'll talk it out after we get out of this." April said as they braced themselves against the Elite Ninja.

At the same time; Aang shot both a fire-fist and an air-wave directly at the Shredder, who was quick and nimble to avoid both as he charged at Aang; but the resourceful Avatar as able to use his staff to block a slash from Shredder's gauntlets. Leo then came in with several slashes from his swords. The armor protected Shredder but he still found himself knocked back from the force of it.

He growled as he faced both Aang and Leo as they faced him with combat stances. "I grow tired of you children and freaks, and your constant interference!"

" _You_ we're the one who tried to take over the world!" Aang shot at him. "You've hurt and killed too many innocent people!"

"And we're here to stop you!" Leo declared.

"We shall see about that." Shredder stated as he charged forward, but Master Splinter leaped over both his eldest son and the young Avatar as he twirled both small metal rods in his hands and quickly flashed them across Shredder's body. Leo and Aang both joined in as well. Leo slashed at Shredder with his swords, knocking Shredder back.

Aang decided to bring out the big guns as he quickly put on a metal glove and pulled out the Sword of Tengu.

Shredder saw Aang wield the sword as it surged with energy. "The Sword of Tengu!" He observed as the energized blade reflected in his red eyes.

Aang shot a blast from the sword, scoring a direct hit on Shredder. He flew across the deck and even fell off the edge. Fortunately for him though, he was able to use his clawed gauntlet to prevent himself from falling as it imbedded itself into the wall.

"Leonardo! Aang! We must leave! Now!" Master Splinter told them as they looked back and saw all their friends currently fighting some of their most dangerous enemies.

"I got it." Aang said as he wielded the Sword of Tengu once again. "EVERYONE GET DOWN!"

All his friends seemed to hear him as they all jumped out of the way in their own respective directions just as Aang swung the sword, sending a large energy wave directly at the enemy forces. The Dark Turtles, Elite Ninja, Hun, Hama, even Azula we're all impacted and sent flying, scattered across the deck by the force of the Sword of Tengu.

Aang put the sword away and blew his bison-whistle, signaling for Appa to come in and land on the deck.

"Everyone on the bison! We're leaving!" Leo ordered as he, Aang, and Splinter we're the first to board; followed by Raph, Don, Katara, Casey, Suki, Sokka, Mikey, April, Toph, Karai, Zuko, even Mai and Ty-Lee.

"Yip! Yip!" Aang snapped the reigns, signaling for Appa to take flight. Right before Appa could take off, Hama was the first to struggle up. She glared as she would not let her enemies escape.

Hama tried to bend her water, but to her surprise, it didn't move even an inch. "What the…?" Hama then felt a pain shoot up her right arm. She grimaced as she rolled up her sleeve and looked in shock to see her skin shift and move around her arm. Her hand even twitched a bit before it seemed to settle down.

"What is happening to me…?" Hama questioned.

Azula was next to recover from the attack as she saw the Sky-Bison and everyone on it already take off and into the air.

"Oh no you don't." Azula glared as she took a stance and readied her lightning.

As she did this, Shredder had climbed back up onto the deck and had seen the Sky Bison flying away, he also saw Azula ready to shoot lightning at it. His eyes widened at it, if she shot down the Sky Bison over the chasm, they would loose the Sword of Tengu.

"Azula! Hold!" Shredder ordered. "Do not shoot down that bison!"

Azula had her lightning primed and ready. "No!" She shot back. "I have a shot to take and I'm going to take it!"

She was about to thrust her hand out, but Shredder caught her wrist. "I said hold!" He tried to get her to re-aim it, but it was too late, the lightning shot straight towards the bison.

Mikey was the first to see it. "INCOMING!"

As everyone looked shocked at what would happen, Zuko acted on pure instinct as he stood up and ran towards the edge of the saddle; he held out his index and middle finger and caught the lightning-bolt. His body surged with electricity as he grimaced; while everyone, human and turtle, even rat, could only look in awe and surprise.

No time to aim it, Zuko shot out his other hand, redirecting the lightning straight at the Foot-Carrier's right front engine. As soon as the lighting hit it, a large explosion erupted. Due to the sudden loss of the engine, the Foot-Carrier began to tilt and slowly loose its balance.

Everyone on board the deck; the Dark Turtles, Hun, Hama, the Foot Elite, Azula, and Shredder all loosed their balance as the Foot-Carrier rocked.

* * *

Everyone inside the control room lost their balance as well, including Stockman. "What happened!?"

"Sir, one of our engines has been knocked out!" One of the technicians reported.

"Stabilize us! Now!"

* * *

Outside, the remaining three functional engines shoot out extra power in order for the Foot Carrier to be stabilized. As it stabilized itself; Appa flew further and futher away.

Zuko fell back onto the saddle as Mai and Karai caught him. "Zuko, are you okay?" Mai asked urgently.

"Yeah…" Zuko breathed. "I'm fine."

"Whoa." Casey and Mikey said at the same time as Sokka's jaw dropped and everyone else looked in surprised amazement at Zuko's feat.

"How… how did you do that?" Don asked.

Zuko gave a weak chuckle. "Something my uncle taught me."

As Appa flew away; everyone on the deck moaned as they tried to get back on their feet. Azula rubbed her head slightly, but was soon grabbed by the throat and pulled close to the face of the enraged Shredder.

"When I give you an order, you are to obey it!" Shredder yelled at Azula, causing her to look terrified at him. "Disobey me again and I will _break_ you! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"

"Yes…. YES, MASTER SHREDDER!" Azula screamed in terror as Shredder threw her to the ground.

He turned to face all his servants. "Return to Ba-Sing-Se!" Shredder ordered. "We must make sure Project Meteoroid proceeds on schedule!"

"But Master, they have the Sword of Tengu." Hun said.

"I am aware of that!" Shredder replied. "But they will come to us eventually. And when they do, show no mercy! I want the Turtles, the Avatar, and all their friends dead! They're severed heads brought to my feet!"

As Shredder voiced his wrath, Hama looked at her right arm, which seemed to be fine right now, but what was that? What caused her to temporarily loose her bending and all feeling in her right arm?

* * *

 _Later that night_

The group had set up camp on a small island in the middle of the ocean. They all sat around a campfire.

"Wow camping." Aang reminisced. "It really seems like old times, doesn't it?"

"Ah memories." Mikey said with a chill voice. "Reminds me of the time we hid out at Casey's old farm house? Only no farmhouse."

"If you really want it to feel like old times…" Zuko tried as he broke a piece of bread. "I could uh… chase you around a bit and try to capture you." He joked.

Most of the group laughed. "Was that a joke?" Don said with a laugh.

"Big bad Zuko's got a sense of humor. Who knew?" Raph chuckled.

As most of the laughs stifled down, April spoke up. "So Zuko, who are your friends?" She gestured to the two young women that sat near him.

"I'm Mai." She responded simply.

"I'm Ty-Lee, nice to meet you all." The pink acrobat greeted friendly.

"How are you here though?" Karai asked.

"Yeah, we though the Foot captured you guys back at the Boiling Rock." Mikey recalled.

"We had some help from your friend Chaplin, Karai." Mai answered. "He says hello."

Karai gave a smile. "Well I am pleased that you are here." She was greeted by a hug from Ty-Lee.

"Aw. I missed you to."

"You know it feels weird." Sokka said as he looked towards Zuko, Karai, Ty-Lee, and Mai. "It wasn't that long ago you guys we're hunting us down; but now you're _with_ us."

"I don't think its weird." Leo said. "You guys we're just on the wrong path, and now you're on the right one."

"Indeed." Master Splinter agreed. "It matters not where you are from or how you we're raised, it is the choices we make that determined who we are. And I feel it is safe to say, you have all made the right choice." He bowed slightly. "We are honored to have all of you with us."

"Here, here!" Aang, Leo, Casey, Raph, Don, Mikey, Sokka, April, Toph, and Suki all said at the same time as they raised their cups; while Zuko, Karai, Mai, and Ty-Lee all shared smiles with each other. No one however, seemed to notice Katara looking down with a guilty expression, still remembering what she did to Leo.

"Hey, Zuko, we're friends right?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah." Zuko replied.

"So I gotta ask… how did you get that cool-looking scar?" Mikey asked.

This caught Zuko by surprise. "Yeah, I gotta know to." Casey seemed in agreement. "It makes you look like a badass!"

"You know, I've always wondered about that myself." Aang said.

Zuko looked down slightly as Karai looked towards him. Truth be told, she was curious herself, but she didn't ask because she felt it was a sensitive subject for Zuko.

Ty-Lee and Mai both looked towards each other with grim expressions, as they knew how Zuko got that scar.

April and Leo seemed to get the hint. "Hey, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Leo said.

"Yeah if its too painful or…" April tried.

"No, no." Zuko raised his hand. "If you guys want to know. I'll tell you."

The entire group, even Katara, began to listen intently as Zuko began. "It was three years ago. My father was hosting a war meeting with his council, I wanted to attend, but the guars wouldn't let. My uncle however was able to get me in, on the condition that I wouldn't speak during it…"

* * *

 _Flashback_

Ozai sat in his throne with flames around it as he listened to his generals and admirals discuss their recent developments on a large map-table showing the Earth Kingdom continent.

"The Earth Kingdom defenses are concentrated here." An old general began. "A dangerous battalion of their strongest Earthbenders and fiercest warriors." He slid a piece over on the map. "So I am recommending the 41st division."

"But the 41st is entirely new recruits." Another general said. "How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion."

"I don't." The first general replied. "They'll be used as a distraction while we mount an attack from the rear." A somewhat sadistic smile formed on his face. "What better to use as bait then fresh meat?"

"You can't sacrifice an entire division like that!" A younger Zuko exclaimed angrily as he stood up. "Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?!"

All the war officers looked at him with glares.

* * *

 _Reality_

"As you can imagine, no one was pleased with my outburst." Zuko told the story.

"Of course you we're angry!" Don stated. "Those guys we're sacrificing an entire battalion of soldiers!"

"Yeah, that is so uncool!" Mikey agreed.

"I knew the Fire Nation military was bad but… I didn't think any of them would actually betray their own soldiers." Aang said.

"Still, it didn't matter if I was right or not." Zuko replied. "It still was not my place to speak out, and it resulted in consequences."

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Leo grimaced.

"What happened next?" Sokka asked.

"After my outburst, my father was _not_ happy." Zuko continued. "He said that my challenge of the general was an act of complete disrespect. And there was only one way it could be resolved."

"What?" Suki asked.

"Agni Kai." Mai answered. "A Firebending duel."

"You're kidding." Raph said. "You tried to defend soldiers you don't even know, and you had to _fight_? I love a good fight as much as the next guy, but that's taking it too far!"

"Wait till you hear the rest of it." Ty-Lee said in a scared tone of voice.

"I thought I would be fighting the general, but I wasn't." Zuko continued. "When I spoke out in my father's war room, it was actually him I had disrespected. So when I went to the arena I looked in shock at the reality that I was going to fight my own father."

That caught the entire group by surprise, even Karai was caught off guard.

"What?" Aang questioned.

"You had to fight your dad?!" Toph questioned.

"Yeah." Zuko replied. "And needless to say, I knew I didn't stand a chance. I was terrified"

"So, what did you do?" Leo asked.

"The only thing I knew how to do at that moment. I begged." Zuko answered.

* * *

 _Flashback_

The young Zuko stood on the arena, facing his father and had a look of terror on his face.

"Please father! I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!"

"You will fight for your honor." Ozai said as he menacingly approached Zuko.

Zuko got on his knees. "I meant you no disrespect. I am you're loyal son!"

"Rise and fight Prince Zuko!" Ozai demanded as he stood over him.

"I won't fight you!" Zuko bowed his head.

"You _will_ learn respect. And suffering will be your teacher." Ozai said as Zuko looked at him with tearful and fearful eyes.

The next thing Zuko would see, would be a blast of flame.

* * *

 _Reality_

Zuko had finished telling the story. Leo, Don, Aang, Sokka, Suki, and Mikey looked in shock; April covered her mouth with both her hands; Toph's dull eyes we're wide with terror, Karai's own pupils shook. Katara herself had a look of terror on her face. Raph's face meanwhile was twisted in an angry scowl, Casey looked ready to explode in anger.

Zuko looked down, recalling that painful memory but was soon felt a comforting embrace by Mai, which he was grateful for. Even Ty-Lee put a hand on his shoulder.

"Dang." Mikey breathed.

"Zuko I…" Aang tried. "I never I…"

"I always thought it was… some kind of accident." Leo said.

"It was _no_ accident." Mai said with venom in her voice.

Casey then stood up as he roared in rage. "That lousy piece of…! The Fire Lord…! and the Shredder!" He yelled as he picked up a broken down tree branch. "Bunch of heartless goons!" He yelled as he smashed the branch against a large rock. "Why… I just wanna… UGH!" Casey yelled.

Everyone in the group looked with wide-eyed expressions at Casey's outburst. The first one to speak was April.

"I think what Mr. Jones here is trying to say is…" She said as she stood up, put her hands on Casey's and helped him sit down. "We're really sorry for what happened to you, Zuko."

"Thank you." Zuko said gratefully. "That means a lot."

"What happened next?" Toph asked.

"After that, my father said I had shown 'shameful weakness'." Zuko continued. "And for that weakness, I was banished. And the only way I could return home was…"

"By capturing me." Aang finished.

"Man, now I feel bad that we didn't let you capture us." Sokka said.

"It certainly explains why you we're chasing Aang all over the world." Don said to Zuko. "It was the only way you could go home."

"Yeah." Zuko replied.

Raph growled. "Ozai… that bastard! You know what? I'm actually _glad_ Shredder killed that son of bitch! I hope he's in Hell right now eating a barf-burger!"

"Ozai got what he deserved, no question." Karai said. "However, now the Fire Nation is under the domino of someone far worse."

"Not if we have anything to say about it." Leo stated. "With all of us together, we're gonna stop the Shredder."

"Got that right bro!" Mikey agreed. He turned to Ty-Lee and Mai. "You ladies with us?"

Ty-Lee and Mai both shared smiles. "Might as well." Mai replied with a shrug.

"This is gonna be fun!" Ty-Lee practically beamed with excitement.

Master Splinter gave a smile. "It is fortunate that we have such strong and honorable warriors with us. For now, I suggest everyone sleep. We shall move to a safer place later, where we will plan our own counterattack."

"Sounds like a plan." Toph said as she fell abck and created her own earth-tent.

"Alright. Everyone get some Zs. We'll think of a plan tomorrow." Leo said as everyone stood up and went to their respective tents.

The only one to not stand up at that moment was Katara. The whole time she heard this story, about how Ozai scared Zuko, she remembered how she attacked Leo back at the Western Air Temple. As she looked at her hands, she remembered the face of the younger Hama as her pupils shrunk.

" _I'm no better than any of them."_ Katara thought to herself.

* * *

It was later at night; most of the group had gone to sleep in their respective tents. Katara however found herself unable to sleep, so she instead found herself slowly approaching the tent that belonged to Master Splinter. She didn't know why, but she felt that this was the only thing for her to do.

Once she opened the tent, she could see that Splinter was facing the rock wall on the back, he wasn't sleeping but meditating. Katara hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Ma… Master Splinter?"

He opened his eyes. "Katara? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I can't sleep, I…" Katara couldn't finish. "I… I did something… something really stupid."

Splinter turned to face her. "Tell me. What happened?"

Katara exhaled deeply as she kneeled and told him everything. She told him about how shortly after Karai and Zuko joined the team back at the Western Air Temple, she saw visions of her mother, and the 'advice' that she gave her. Katara even told how she distanced herself from everyone, and how she even attacked Karai. Master Splinter said nothing as he continued to listen. Then Katara got to the part that she hated, her fight with Leo, and how she struck him and drew blood. Katara finished and lowered her head, waiting for him to respond, and she was expecting a harsh punishment of some sort, which she felt she deserved.

"You allowed your anger to get the best of you." Master Splinter spoke in a serious tone of voice. "And in a sense of rage, you struck Leonardo."

"I'm so sorry…" Katara spoke with a lowered head. "I… I wanted to listen but… I don't know what happened I…. I just got so angry I… I didn't even know what I did until I did it."

"Young Katara, rage is a monster that will destroy you from within. A true warrior must find balance in all things." Master Splinter told her.

"I think I know why he's the better leader, or the better person now." Katara spoke as tears formed in her eyes. "It wasn't him I was mad at but still… I… if I did that to him… who's to say I wouldn't do it to Aang?" She let her tears fall.

Master Splinter stood up and spoke softly. "Katara, from the beginning, before you met my sons, it would seem you would try to bare the personal problems of Aang, Sokka, and Toph on your shoulders. It is an admirable quality when you are protector of others. I may not agree with how you handled the situation at that Air Temple, I can tell it was from a motivation deep down to protect the ones you care for."

Katara looked in mild surprise as Splinter continued.

"You are strong willed, passionate, and loyal to a fault. These are the merits of a great leader as well, but only when tempered with compassion and humility." Splinter continued to speak. "However, I sense that the anger is still inside you, but I feel it is though that it is not directed towards Zuko and Karai, but rather something else that you have simply connected them to. So, you must ask yourself, what is it that you are truly angered at?"

Katara looked down as she thought. "I know, a source of it is Shredder. After all that he's done to us, to you, to everyone who crosses him, and for what he did to Aang in Ba-Sing-Se I… he's pure evil! He's a monster! He raised Karai so… I… can't help but feel that… she might be just like him."

Master Splinter allowed her to speak. "I can understand that, but that is how you feel towards Karai. What is it you are angered at Zuko for? Is it for how he relentlessly chased you and the Avatar across the world? I'm sure you know no, that he didn't have much of a choice in it. Or how he was forced by the Shredder to aid him in Ba-Sing-Se."

"I know that." Katara said. "After what he told all of us… about what Ozai did to him… I can't help… but feel sorry for him. But…"

"But there is still something in your soul that is connecting the anger you felt at him to a different source. What is it?" Splinter asked.

Katara looked inside herself, as she held her necklace, she knew the answer. "My mother. She was killed when I was only little, by a soldier from the Fire Nation. Since he's the prince of the Fire Nation…."

"You felt as though he we're the one responsible?" Splinter finished, to which Katara nodded. "You have to know, that at that time, he was likely not much older than you, therefore he had nothing to do with your mother's death."

"I know, I know." Katara repeated. "But I… I just don't know what to do."

"Perhaps now it is best that you get some rest, and we may find a solution later." Splinter advised.

"You mean… you're not mad at me? You don't hate me? After what I did to Leo?"

Splinter sighed. "I am disappointed in how you handled that situation. However, this is not the first time I've had to deal with someone allowing their anger to control them. Just ask Raphael."

Katara felt as though a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders, but there was still a hint of sadness inside. "Thank you, Master Splinter."

He nodded. "Get some sleep."

Katara got up and walked out of the tent. As she walked outside, she failed to notice both Zuko and Karai behind a rock. They overheard everything. One would argue that their eavesdropping was an invasion of privacy, but Karai could sense the torment in Katara's soul, as she and Zuko heard this; they both looked to each other and nodded, knowing what to do next.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se; Foot Central Command; Dr. Stockman's lab._

Stockman had just taken a blood sample from Hama and was now looking at the data on a monitor. Hama sat on the chair waiting impatiently.

"Well? What's happening?! I want to know!"

"No need to shout." Stockman stated.

"For a brief moment, I lost my bending!" Hama stated, standing up. "And it looked like my skin was moving! My hand twitched and I lost all feeling in my right arm! That never happened to me before! You made this body for me! I have a right to know what is going on!"

Stockman rolled his eyes. "Give me a moment, I need to look at this data." He looked at said data on his monitor's screen. After a moment he turned to Hama with an answer. "It's nothing, the skin is jus settling that's all. Simple tissue acclimation."

Hama raised an eyebrow. "That's it? What about my bending?"

"Can you Waterbend now?" Stockman questioned.

Hama stretched her hand towards a sink and was able to pull water of it and bent a glob of water around her hand. "Does that answer your question?"

"Then I like I said, it was simple tissue acclimation. It must have connected to your genes that allow you to bend and resulted in a temporary loss." Stockman assumed.

"So this won't happen again?" Hama questioned.

"Probably not." Stockman answered. "Though you may experience a few minor side effects such as numbing in certain places, maybe even a small case of nausea here and there."

"Side effects?" Hama questioned. "I thought you said this body was perfect for me!"

"Keep in mind, that your cloned body was a rushed order." Stockman explained. "I had to accelerate the cloning process, so you may still experience a few side effects, but nothing fatal."

"You're sure about that?" Hama questioned again.

"I wouldn't have put you through the process if I wasn't sure." Stockman told her.

Hama stood up. "For your sake, Dr. Stockman, I hope you're right." She then left the room.

Stockman rolled his holographic eyes again. "Ignorant dolt." The truth was, he really had no idea what was happening. It was his first time cloning a bender. Perhaps there would be more side effects; perhaps her body would break down completely. He didn't care, if her body failed, he would study from the failures and be ever closer to cloning himself a new body, one that could bend all the elements, and he wouldn't have anything to fear from the Shredder again. For now though, it was best to observe Hama's progress, after all she _is_ the test subject for this experiment.

* * *

 _Team Avatar campsite_

Sometime later, both the banished Fire Prince and former Foot Kunoichi walked towards another tent, but as they did Karai accidently bumped into Suki approaching the same tent.

"Oops!" Suki tried to put an innocent smile on. "Wrong tent." She tried to walk away.

"Do you wish to see Sokka as well?" Karai asked.

"Nope. Not me." Suki quickly answered before hurriedly walking away.

"What was that all about?" Zuko questioned.

"It may not be any of our business." Karai answered before they both entered the tent.

However, what they saw made Zuko's expression fall, and Karai's eyes widened in surprise. Sokka was on his belly, in a somewhat seductive position with candles and flowers everywhere.

"Well hello…" Sokka sung with a rose in his mouth, but he quickly swallowed it with circular eyes at the two people he did _not_ expect to be there.

"Karai! Zuko!" Sokka quickly stood up right as Karai and Zuko, both looking rather disturbed, sat down. "Yes uh… why would I be expecting anybody different?!" He swallowed the rose whole. "So can I help you guys with anything."

The two redeemed warriors chose to forget this awkward situation as Karai spoke. "It's your sister, she is in pain."

"What? Is she okay?!" Sokka urgently asked.

"No, she is fine, physically." Karai responded. "However, her soul is being torn."

"What do you mean by that?" Sokka asked, being quite confused by that statement.

Zuko spoke next. "Look, I know this is going to seem out of nowhere, but I want you to tell us what happened to your mother."

Sokka became serious. "What? Why would you guys want to know about that?"

"Katara mentioned it before when we we're imprisoned together in Ba-Sing-Se." Zuko answered.

"I overheard that myself." Karai remembered. "She doesn't trust us, and we know why now. Her anger towards me is connected to her anger towards the Shredder, which I understand. And it would seem she is connecting her anger towards Zuko to the loss of her mother. We want to help her, and perhaps this may provide a solution."

Sokka looked down. "Its not a day I like to remember."

"If you don't want to talk about it…" Zuko said, having understanding the pain of loosing a mother himself.

"No, if you guys think this can help Katara, then I'll tell you." Sokka began to tell the story.

* * *

 _Flashback_

It was a bright sunny day in the Southern Water Tribe as a toddler Sokka came out from behind a snow mound with a snowball in his hand, however before he could throw it, another one hit his face. This came from a toddler Katara who giggled at her victory. Little Sokka came back with an even larger snowball in both his hands, however there game stopped upon seeing black snow fall from the sky.

Both their smiles vanished, as, despite their young age, they both knew exactly what it meant.

"I'm going to find mom." Little Katara said to her brother as she ran towards their home. Meanwhile, Little Sokka had a look of determination as he ran in another direction, along with several other Southern Water Tribe warriors.

Just outside the tribe, three large Fire Nation ships began to arrive onto the scene.

" _Many of the warriors had seen the black snow before and they knew what it meant: a Fire Nation Raid."_

Multiple Fire Nation soldiers gave yells as they jumped off their ships and charged directly at the tribe.

Hakoda led the warriors as they too gave battle cries and charged at the incoming enemy.

Little Sokka hid behind a pile of snow as he watched the battle, despite the vast number of Firebenders, the Water Tribe warriors seemed to have held the advantage.

" _We we're badly outnumbered, but somehow we managed to drive them off."_

One Fire Nation soldier was tossed into the snow pile Little Sokka was hiding behind. Little Sokka threw a snowball at the unconscious soldier before running into the battlefield.

He picked up a stray boomerang and wanted to join the fight, only to see the Fire Nation soldiers retreating.

" _But as quickly as they came, they just left."_

Little Sokka spitefully threw the boomerang in the direction of the retreating Fire Nation ships and looked on with a hateful glare.

 _End flashback_

* * *

"I was so relieved when it was over, but that's because I didn't know yet what had happened." Sokka looked down. "I didn't know we lost our mother."

Karai looked with sympathy as she placed a comforting hand on Sokka's shoulder. "I am sorry."

Zuko had listened to the story as well. He too felt sympathy for both Katara and Sokka, but he needed to ask something. "Wait, can you remember any details about the soldiers who raided your village? Like, what the lead ship looked like?"

Sokka tried to remember. "Yeah… Sea Ravens. The main ship had flags with Sea Ravens on them."

"The symbol of the Southern Raiders." Zuko stated.

"So, now we know who's responsible." Karai said. "Thank you for sharing this information Sokka, and I am truly sorry for your mother."

"Thanks Karai." Sokka said with a grateful smile. "And thanks for stopping by." He hurriedly pushed them both out of the tent before sighing in relief. "I'd thought they'd never leave."

Sokka had a dreamy smile as he stuck his head outside the tent. "Suki…" He then noticed Karai and Zuko giving Sokka odd stares. Sokka tried to put on an innocent whistle before they walked away.

* * *

 _The Next Morning_

Katara had just woken up and walked outside her tent, but looked in surprise to see both Zuko and Karai sitting on a rock in front of it.

"Wha… what are you guys doing here?" She questioned.

"We waited all night for you." Karai answered.

Katara walked past them to gather some supplies as they stood up. "What do you want?"

"We know who killed your mother." Zuko said, causing Katara to look in surprise. "And we're going to help you find them."

Katara looked towards Zuko and Karai with a surprised expression before it turned serious.

* * *

While some other members of this large team we're still asleep, others had already woken up. Sokka was putting together a flower necklace, Leo and Splinter we're both meditating, Casey was practicing some punches with Raph holding a sleeping bag like a punching bag, and Aang was getting some hay for Appa's breakfast.

Sokka, Raph, and Casey we're the first to notice Katara, Zuko, and Karai walking towards the group.

"I need to borrow Appa." Katara told Aang.

"Why? Is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko and Karai?" Aang jokingly asked.

"Yes, it is." Katara answered in a very serious tone of voice. Leo and Splinter noticed the tone in Katara's voice, as did Aang as they gave Katara their attention.

"What's going on?" Leo asked as he and Splinter stood up.

"We're going to find the man who took my mother from me." Katara answered as Sokka, Raph, and Casey joined in.

"Say what?" Raph questioned.

"Sokka told us the story of how it happened." Karai stated. "A Fire Nation group called the Southern Raiders we're responsible."

"I know who did it, and I know how to find him." Zuko added.

Master Splinter had a serious look on his face. "It would seem you have found the source of your anger. However, this approach you intend may not be for the best."

"Yeah… what exactly is it that you think this will accomplish?" Aang questioned.

Katara gave a scoffing laugh as she turned around. "I knew you wouldn't understand."

"Katara stop, we do understand. All of us." Leo stopped her. "Shredder has been hunting us down and going after our friends for as long as we can remember!"

"I understand you to Katara." Aang tried as well. "You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the Sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?"

"Or when Shredder nearly killed Aang back in Ba-Sing-Se." Raph added. "Or what about Master Splinter, after old bucket-head killed his Master Yoshi?"

"We understand what you are all trying to do." Karai spoke to the group. "However, she needs to face this man."

"Karai's right." Zuko agreed. "This is about getting closure and justice."

"I don't think so." Aang disagreed. "I think it's about getting revenge."

"Fine! Maybe it is!" Katara spitefully said. "Maybe it's what I need! Maybe its what he deserves!"

"It is not our place to determine whether a man deserves to live or die." Master Splinter stated.

"You're starting to sound a lot like Hama, Katara." Leo told her.

"It's not the same!" Katara argued, facing her friends. "Hama attacked the innocent! This man, he's a monster!"

"Katara, she was my mother to." Sokka tried. "But I think Aang, Leo, and Master Splinter might be right on this."

"Then you didn't love her the way I did!" Katara exclaimed; causing the group to look in surprise, especially Sokka.

"Katara…"

"I do not like that tone of yours." Raph told her.

"You don't have any room to talk, Raph! You're not exactly anger management material!" Katara argued.

"Neither are you! Especially after what you did to Leo!" Raph exclaimed; this caused Zuko, Karai, Sokka, and Casey to look in surprise, this being the first time hearing this.

Katara's anger seemed to be replaced with a wide-eyed expression before she hung her head down in shame.

"Wait… what?" Zuko questioned.

Raph began to speak. "When you guys we're at that Boiling Rock, Leo tried to get Katara to blow off some steam with a sparing match, and when he offered his hand to help her, she lashed out at him and even made him bleed!"

This caused the group to look at Katara with concern. "I was not aware of this." Karai said.

"Yeah, you really shouldn't be doing this kid. It'll be the biggest mistake of your life." Casey told Katara.

Katara's anger returned. "This man killed my mother! You don't know what that's like!"

This time it was Casey's turn to get angry. "Oh really!? You know that oversized bastard, Hun?! He killed my dad!"

Katara looked in surprise; everyone else, Aang, Zuko, Karai, and Sokka looked towards Casey while Raph, Splinter, and Leo had understanding looks on their faces.

"What?" Katara breathed.

Casey sighed. "A long time ago when I was a kid…"

* * *

 _Flashback, New York City_

A ten year old Casey stood in front of a burning store with several punks from the Purple Dragon gang, led by a younger, but still muscular Hun, walked toward him.

" _Some young punks we're shaking my dad down for protection money. They called themselves the Purple Dragons. When he wouldn't pay, they torched our store."_

As Hun approached the ten-year-old Casey, he raised his fists up ready for a fight, but Hun picked him up by the collar and pulled him close.

"You tell your old man, punk: next time pay up or else." Hun said as he threw Casey down before he and the Purple Dragons walked away. Casey looked at the burning store that belonged to his family.

* * *

 _New Flashback_

The Ten-year-old Casey stood in his apartment as his father, Arnold Jones, picked up a baseball bat; but Casey's mother, Mrs. Jones, tried to stop her husband.

"Arnold please, its too dangerous."

"Please pops, don't go!" Young Casey begged.

Arnold looked down at his son; he kneeled down and put a hand on his shoulder. "I gotta kiddo. I put everything we had into that store; I can't just let them get away with this. I'm going to the police."

"But they said 'no cops'!" Young Casey continued to beg. "They said if you…"

"Casey, sometimes you just gotta stand up for what's right." Arnold told his son. "Even if the odds are against ya, even if you're all alone, you gotta just stand up and do the right thing."

Casey and his mother watched as his father left the apartment, but that would be the last time they'd see him.

" _But my old man didn't make it to the cops. Hun got to him first."_

 _End Flashback_

* * *

Casey had told his story; Leo, Raph, and Splinter looked down in sorrow; Karai and Zuko especially looked in sympathy, as did Aang and Sokka. Katara looked at Casey with wide eyes.

"I… Casey…"

Casey looked directly at Katara. "So don't tell me, that I don't know how it feels! Heck, I even had a chance to get payback on Hun, like what you're planning to do, but I didn't. Because if I did that, I'd be no different from him."

"Casey's right Katara." Aang agreed. "When Master Yoshi's spirit showed me what happened between him, Mashimi, and Tang-Shen, the Ancient One said that revenge is like a splinter, it gets under your skin and can poison your life."

"That's cute." Zuko said. "But this isn't ninja preschool, it's the real world."

"Yeah? Well in the real world, your anger can take you down, make you act just like the guys your fighting." Raph argued.

"But I know he's out there." Katara said. "I know I can find him now, I feel like I have no choice."

"Katara, you do have a choice. Forgiveness." Aang told her.

"Aang, I understand you have your beliefs." Karai began. "However, there are people in this, and my world, that are inherently evil and have committed crimes that can never be forgiven. The Shredder is a prime example of that."

"That's right, it's the same as doing nothing and just letting them get away with it." Zuko agreed.

"No it is not." Master Splinter stated. "Simply doing nothing is easy, anyone is capable of doing that. But to forgive… that is much more difficult."

"It's not just difficult, it's impossible." Katara said before walking off. Zuko and Karai walked off; leaving Aang with Leo, Casey, Raph, Sokka, and Splinter.

"We all know she's gonna try to sneak off tonight, right?" Raph asked the group.

"Yep." Leo, Sokka, Aang, and Casey all answered at the same time.

"This is something she must do, we can all understand that." Master Splinter said. "However, revenge only feeds a never ending cycle of hate. If she takes revenge against this man, what will stop his family and loved ones from seeking revenge against her? Or her loved ones for seeking revenge for her? This cycle never ends and only results in pain and death."

"So what do we do then?" Aang asked, as Leo and Raph looked towards each other, both brothers having a good idea of what to do.

* * *

 _Later that night_

Katara, Zuko, and Karai we're all dressed in black and ready to board Appa. Leo, Raph, Aang and Sokka quickly arrived on the scene.

"So you we're just gonna take Appa anyway?!" Aang questioned.

"Yes." Katara answered harsly.

Raph rolled his eyes. "Yep, knew it."

"It's okay, because I forgive you." Aang tried. "That give you any ideas?"

"Way to be subtle Aang." Leo said with sarcasm in his voice.

"Don't try to stop us!" Katara stated as Zuko packed the last of their things, and Karai sheathed her sword.

"Who we said we we're going to?" Raph questioned. "In fact, I'm coming with you."

"You are?" Zuko asked in mild surprise.

"Got a problem with that?" Raph questioned again.

"Why would you want to come with us?" Karai asked.

"Two reasons." Raph answered. "One, we might run into some Foot goons, so you'll need some extra muscle. Two, I know a thing or two about anger issues, so I'm gonna make sure little Sugar Queen here doesn't do anything stupid."

Katara glared at Raph before relenting. "Fine, just try not to slow us down."

"I'm a ninja, I don't slow anyone down." Raph replied.

"No one is going to stop you Katara." Leo told her. "This is something you have to do, and we respect that. But don't do something that you may regret for the rest of your life."

Katara nodded before she, Raph, and Karai boarded Appa, with Katara at the reigns. Zuko picked up the sack of their supplies, but Leo spoke to him.

"Zuko, you watch their backs."

"I will." Zuko nodded before he got onto Appa.

"Thanks for understanding guys." Katara said before taking the reigns.

"Yo Katara!" She looked off to the side to see Casey. "Listen, my old man told me that sometimes you just gotta stand up for what's right. Even if the odds are against ya, even if you're all alone, you gotta just stand up and do the right thing."

Katara looked somewhat surprised for a minute before snapping the reigns. "Yip, yip!"

Appa gave a groan before taking off into the sky with Leo, Aang, Casey, and Sokka watching the bison fly away.

"You know, for a kid and a mutant Turtle, you guys are pretty wise." Sokka told them.

"Thanks Sokka." Leo replied.

"Usually the old-wise-man thing gets annoying, but right now I'm impressed." Casey stated with a slightly mischievous smirk.

Leo's eyelids lowered, as did Aang's. "I appreciate that."

"So… can I borrow Momo for a week?" Sokka asked.

Aang looked towards Sokka. "Why do you need Momo?"

Sokka shrugged, Leo simply face-palmed, even Casey looked weirded out.

* * *

 _Foot Mystic Shrine_

The Five Foot Mystics watched through their pool as they saw Appa fly through the night sky with Katara, Zuko, Raph, and Karai onboard.

"Things have taken an interesting turn, my brothers." The Earth Mystic observed.

"Indeed. The girl may have failed our expectations to eliminate the Turtles and turn against the Avatar, however, our influence on her has left her psyche in a weakened state." The Water Mystic observed as well.

"The anger she suppressed deep in her soul has resurfaced, and she knows exactly where to direct it." The Fire Mystic said.

"She will confront the one who killed her mother." The Metal Mystic stated. "And with the proper influence from us, she will take his life, and become a truly hateful creature!"

"Once the Avatar sees this, and knows how dark the soul of his beloved truly is, he too will become vulnerable. Vulnerable enough for us to use to complete our plan." The Wind Mystic said.

"Then let us continue to observe, and see just how far into the dark side she will go." The Fire Mystic said as they watched this play out.

* * *

Appa flew across the night sky as Raph put on a black suit, identical to the ones Katara and Zuko we're wearing.

"So, anyone got an actual plan or are we just gonna go blowing random stuff up?" Raph questioned.

"We need to find the Fire Navy communication tower." Zuko answered. "All the navy's movements are coordinated by messenger hawk, and every tower has to be up to date about where everyone is deployed."

Katara heard every word. "So once we find the communication tower, we bust in and take the information we need."

"No." Karai replied. "If we simply attack, the soldiers will likely try to warn the Southern Raiders, but more importantly, the Foot will intercept the warning and will know where to find us. Its best we do not attract their attention in this matter."

"Then we'll stick to the shadows. So don't do anything stupid, Katara. We need you to stay focused." Raph told her.

"Oh I am plenty focused." Katara replied with anger in her eyes.

* * *

Appa took cover behind a large mound just across from a small island with a tall tower, the communication tower they we're looking for.

Katara, Raph, Zuko, and Karai, all dressed in black, ran forward. Katara bent a large patch of ice from the water, which they all leapt on to. She then used her Waterbending to propel them close to the tower. She followed with the wave and propelled them straight upwards.

Raph and Karai we're the first to make it up to the lowest ledge of the tower with their ninja-agility. They each reached down; Karai grabbed Katara, and Raph reached for Zuko as they we're quickly pulled up.

Karai and Raph took point as they hid behind a corner; Karai held her hand back to keep Zuko and Katara from coming closer. The Kunoichi saw a few guards come out from an open door, once they we're clear, she made a motion for them to precede. All four quickly and quietly ran towards the open door and inside the tower; Zuko was quick to shut the door behind them so they wouldn't be spotted.

Once inside, Raph looked to the upper right wall and found an air vent large enough for them to crawl through. He used his sais to pry the cover from the vent. Katara entered first, followed by Karai, Zuko, and finally Raph.

They climbed through the vent and made it to an office where a female guard was working on a map. The group looked down from a wire covering in the ceiling, they knew that she needed to go, but they couldn't attack her and alert anyone, they had to be subtle about this.

Katara used her Waterbending to spill some of the ink over the map. The guard looked in frustration before she got up and left the room to get some fresh paper and more ink. With her gone, Raph kicked the vent covering down as all four jumped down and entered the room.

"We need to hurry." Karai said.

They agreed and began to search for the info they we're looking for. "Okay, Southern Raiders." Zuko mused as he took out a scroll.

"Did you find it?" Raph asked.

"Yeah." Zuko replied as he took out a map and lay on the table for them to see. "Bam." He pointed to a spot on the map. "On patrol near Whale Tail Island."

"Whale Tail Island, here we come." Katara muttered darkly as the four of them left the through the vent in the ceiling.

* * *

 _Team Avatar Campsite_

Pretty much everyone was still asleep, as it was very early in the morning; the only exceptions we're Aang, who was pacing around relentlessly, unable to get any sleep throughout the night, as well as both Leo and Master Splinter.

"Where are they? Do you think they're okay?" Aang rapidly questioned.

"I don't know." Leo responded.

"Do you think she found him?" Aang questioned again.

"I don't know." Leo responded again.

"Do you think she'll make the right choice?" Aang questioned, yet again.

Leo sighed. "Aang, I don't think there _is_ a clear cut right or wrong choice here."

Aang looked back to Leo with surprise. "Leo?! How can you say that!?"

"Leonardo is right, young Aang." Master Splinter agreed, further surprising Aang. "The world and the choices we make are not so black and white as we would like to believe."

"But the monks taught me…" Aang tried.

"Yeah, the monks taught _you_." Leo interrupted. "They didn't teach the rest of us, and certainly not Katara. We get you have your believes on forgivness, but Karai was right about what she said yesterday. There are people out there who cannot be forgiven. Take Shredder fore example. He murdered Master Yoshi, and countless other people, he tried to kill me and my brothers, my sensei, my friends, you and your friends; he slaughtered who-knows-how-many Fire Nation soldiers and completely took control of the entire country. Can you honestly look at someone like him, someone who is that evil and beyond any hope of redemption, and say you forgive him?"

Aang took the moment to try and think of an answer. He knows the crimes Shredder has committed, as well as seen the evil in his eyes. Those we're the eyes of someone who has no intention of turning good. He simply lowered his head.

Master Splinter chose to spoke. "I can understand how Katara feels. The Shredder took away my Master Yoshi; to this day I still have not forgotten the sorrow in my heart. And that is one of the reasons I choose to fight him, to avenge my master and defeat the monster responsible for his death."

Aang looked towards Splinter. "But… isn't that still revenge? Just feeding the cycle like you said?"

"I said that was _one_ of the reasons." Master Splinter replied. "I fight the Shredder for a number of others. First, he has targeted my family, and I fight now to protect them. And second, he is great evil and his plans for this world are likely far worse than anything the late Ozai and his forefathers have ever planed. He must be stopped. But this is beside the point, Katara's beard this burden in her heart for years and she finally has a chance to be rid of it."

"And no matter what happens, we still have to be there for her." Leo said.

"Even after what she did to you?" Aang asked, referring to the wound she inflected upon Leo.

"Katara spoke to me about that." Master Splinter said. "She feels regret for her actions; she knows her anger is poisoning her. I believe that no matter what choice she makes, she will finally be free from her anger."

Aang sighed as he sat down with them. "I hope you guys are right."

"So do we." Leo responded.

* * *

Appa continued to fly ever closer to Whale Tail Island and hasn't stopped all day; even now the sun was setting. Katara was still at the reigns with Raph, Zuko, and Karai in the saddle.

"You should get some rest." Zuko advised. "We'll be there in a few hours, you'll need your strength."

"Oh don't you worry about my strength." Katara replied, keeping her eyes forward. "I have plenty. I'm not the helpless little girl I was when they came."

* * *

 _Flashback_

Little Katara looked with fearful eyes at the black snow descending on her village.

"I'm going to find mom." She frightfully said to her brother as she ran towards their house.

She ran, being propelled by fear and a natural instinct to seek safety in the form of her mother. Little Katara made it to her igloo.

"Mom!" She however stopped in her tracks when she saw a Fire Nation soldier facing her mother, the soldier turned towards her and Katara looked with fearful eyes.

"Just let her go, and I'll give you the information you want." Kya told the soldier.

"You heard your mother, get out of here!" The soldier exclaimed at Katara.

"Mom… I'm scared." Little Katara said truthfully to her mother.

"Go find your dad, sweetie. I'll handle this." Kya told her with a comforting smile.

The frightened child looked with tears of fear in her eyes as she saw the glare from the soldier before running out to find her father.

" _I ran as fast as I could."_

She made it to find her father, still helping to fight off the soldiers. "Dad! Dad!" She screamed as she saw her father knock down a Fire Nation Soldier. "Please! I think Mom's in trouble! There's a man in our house!"

Hakoda heard his daughter's cries. "Kya!"

Hakoda and another warrior ran back to the igloo as quick as they could.

 _End Flashback_

* * *

"But we we're too late… when we got there, the man was gone… and so was she." Katara chocked up a bit at the last sentence.

Zuko, Karai, and even Raph looked in sympathy.

"You're mother was a brave woman." Karai offered.

Katara looked down as she held her mother's necklace with tears in her eyes again. "I know."

Night had fallen. Katara decided to take their advice as she slept to get some strength. Raph and Karai kept the look out on the sides, while Zuko was at the reigns of Appa as the Sky-Bison continued to fly.

He looked in a spyglass and spotted their target. "There!" Katara, Raph, and Karai looked to see the ship in the distance. "See those Sea-Raven flags?" He tossed the spyglass to Katara.

"Those guys the Southern Raiders?" Raph asked.

"Yes, its them." Zuko confirmed.

"We have found them." Karai stated.

Katara lowered the spyglass with a determined a vengeful look on her face. "Lets do this."

Appa quickly fell towards the water and went straight under right before Katara used her Waterbending to create a bubble around Appa's head to give him and the group oxygen. Appa swam underneath the ship and directly toward it.

On top of the ship, the Southern Raider, Fire Nation soldiers appeared to be simply minding their own business as they made small talk.

"So there I was and I was like, you know, you could…" Before he could finish, a water tentacle wrapped around him and flung him clear off the ship. The other Raiders looked off the side to see what had just happened.

Appa meanwhile had swum underneath the ship and surface on the other side. Raph and Karai quickly jumped off and landed on the deck of the ship, before the Raiders could even react, the two ninjas quickly dispatched them.

Raph did a split kick to knock out two of them, before he grabbed a third by the wrist and flung him off the ship completely. Karai thrusted her palm into the chest of one to send him flying to a wall where he fell unconscious upon impact. She then turned to the remaining two and delivered precise neck chops to knock them out.

Appa then landed on the deck of the ship as Katara and Zuko got off. One Firebender struggled to get up, but Katara quickly thrusted a massive stream of water to send him flying off the ship as well.

With the initial threat dealt with, the four of them ran inside the ship, with Katara having water-whips on her arms. A door opened on the side, but Zuko intercepted the sneak attack as he grabbed the Raider's sword and kicked him back into the room, before closing the door and sealing it shut with the sword.

They came to the door that led to the bridge of the ship.

"This must be it." Raph stated.

"Yeah, it's the bridge, the leader is likely in there." Zuko agreed.

Karai looked towards the younger girl. "Are you ready Katara?"

She lowered her mask before thrusting her tentacles forward to literally blast open the door. The moment it opened, Zuko came in and intercepted a fire blast from the captain.

Raph then came in next; right when the captain shot a fireball at him, Raph rolled underneath and delivered a roundhouse to knock the captain down. He tried to get up, only to have Karai flash a katana directly toward his face.

"Stay down." She told him with glaring eyes.

The captain glared at her. "Who are you?!"

Raph picked him up by the collar. "What? You don't recognize her?" He made him face Katara. "Believe me, you will." He threw the captain down.

He was about to get up and Firebend, but before he could, he felt a pulling sensation in his wrist. "What… what's happening to me…?!" The captain had no control over his body as it was bent and throttled outside of his control.

Karai and Zuko both looked shocked at this, while Raph looked towards Katara and saw her in a Waterbending stance, he looked in surprise at this, as he knew Katara was Bloodbending.

The helmet fell off the soldier as Katara forced him to the ground. Karai was the first to regain her bearings. "Remember your previous raid on the Southern Water Tribe." She told the captain.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Please, I don't know!" The captain begged.

"Don't lie!" Zuko exclaimed as he kneeled down to the captain and then pointed to Katara. "You look her in the eye tell her you don't remember what you did!"

Katara used her Waterbending to force the captain up on his knees. She looked at him with an expression of pure rage, but she saw his eyes, they were not the same eyes that she remembered.

"It's not him." She said with a wide-eyed surprise. She released him from her Bloodbending. "He's not the man."

"What?!" Raph and Zuko questioned at the same time.

"How can that be?" Karai questioned as well. "He's the leader of the Southern Raiders, if he isn't the man, who is?"

Katara had a guilty expression on her face before she began to walk out. The captain struggled to get up, but Raph grabbed him by the collar before pinning him to the wall.

"Who was the last leader of the Southern Raiders, bub? The last guy who invaded the Southern Tribe?!" Raph interrogated.

"You must be looking for Yon Rha. He retried four years go." The captain answered.

"Where is he?" Karai questioned.

* * *

After retrieving the information from the captain about Yon Rha's location, they had continued flying on Appa. Raph was at the reigns this time, while Katara slept. Zuko and Karai had not slept though, they we're both curious about what exactly Katara did on that ship.

"Raphael." Karai got his attention. "What was that?"

Raph knew what she was talking about and sighed. "You guys remember that Hama lady?"

"What about her?" Zuko asked as he and Karai we're listening to him.

"Well we met her a little bit before the invasion." Raph began. "But the last time we saw her, she was just an old hag. But, she was a Waterbender from the Southern Tribe like Katara, several decades ago, during a Fire Nation raid; she was abducted and locked in prison. But she escaped after inventing her own technique: Bloodbending."

"Bloodbending?" Zuko questioned as he and Karai looked towards each other in surprise. "What's that?"

"During the Full Moon, when Waterbenders are at their strongest, they can bend the blood in a person's body, make them do what they want like a puppet." Raph explained.

"It makes sense." Karai said. "The human body is more than seventy percent water."

"Yeah, Hama had used this trick to become a borderline serial killer to get revenge on the Fire Nation." Raph continued. "She tried to force Katara to become a Bloodbender like her, Katara refused and so we had a fight. Katara swore she'd never Bloodbend but…."

"She ended up doing that anyway, just recently." Zuko finished.

"Yeah." Raph nodded. "And it wasn't even the guy she hatted. It was just some random guy."

Karai looked with sympathy. "To use such a technique… I cannot imagine what she must be feeling right now."

As Katara continued to sleep, it looked as though her face was pained, as though she we're having a terrible nightmare.

* * *

Katara's eyes shot open and she found herself in the Southern Water Tribe. "What? I'm home?" She wondered as she looked around.

Katara heard a familiar giggle and looked to see her younger self, much to her surprise, along with a younger Sokka, playing with snowballs.

"What's going on?" She wondered out loud. Her thoughts we're cut off as black snow began to fell from the sky.

"I'm going to find Mom!" Little Katara said as she ran past Katara, as though she weren't there.

Katara then knew what this was. It was the day her mother died. She followed her younger self to her family's igloo and entered it just as her younger self did.

"Mom!" Little Katara exclaimed but stopped in her tracks. Katara too entered but her eyes widened, the man standing in front of her mother was not the same Fire Nation soldier that killed her mother, it was in fact the one person she feared even more: The Shredder.

"Just let her go, and I'll give you the information you want." Kya told the Shredder.

The Shredder said nothing as he faced Kya. He raised his clawed gauntlet, much to Katara's horror. "No" She watched as the Shredder brought his claws down on Kya, killing her.

"No! NO! NOOOO!" Katara fell to her knees and let her tears fall.

"Do you understand now?"

Katara looked up and looked in surprise to see that her younger self was talking directly to her.

"The moment you left your home and became a fighter, you became as much as a monster as the ones you fight."

"What?" Katara questioned in disbelief. "I left to help Aang!"

"You know that's not true." Little Katara said in a monotone voice. "You did it to seek vengeance for your mother's death. You swore you'd never used Bloodbending and yet you still did."

"I thought he was the one who…" Katara tried.

"It changes nothing. You used Bloodbending on an innocent man, just like Hama." Little Katara continued. "And what's worse, you struck down your own friend who was trying to help you." She continued, referring to Leo. "Even now, you are still on a trail of vengeance. You and the darkness inside has now given way to a greater monster than what the Fire Nation could ever hope to be."

Katara looked up to see the Shredder approach her. When she looked at him, she saw him take off his helmet to reveal something that made her pupils shrink. It wasn't the face of Oroku Saki. It was _her_ face. An adult Katara was wearing the armor of the Shredder as she looked down with a scowl.

"You're… me?"

"All anger, rage, and hatred." Little Katara continued. "You will be the one to tear apart the Fire Nation, slaughtering every man, woman, and child in that country, and leave a trail of destruction across this pitiful world. You may say differently, but deep inside you now the truth. You _are_ the Shredder."

The Shredder-Katara walked towards the terrified Katara and raised her claws. "No… you can't be me! You just can't be! It's impossible!" Katara screamed.

Claws we're brought down on her with a slash.

* * *

Katara awoke from her nightmare with a scream. But she covered her mouth to prevent it from being too loud. She looked around to see she was still in Appa's saddle; with Karai and Zuko asleep in it. Katara looked to her hands as they shook.

"Can't sleep, huh?"

She looked to see Raph, still at the reigns of Appa as he looked towards her. Katara climbed over and sat next to Raph.

"You wanna talk about it?" Raph offered.

Katara looked away as she hugged her knees. "Raph, am I good person?"

To say Raph was surprised would be an understatement. "What? What are you…?"

"Please… just tell me. Am I really good? Or am I just someone who's not too different from Shredder?"

Raph put his hand on Katara's shoulder. "Katara, look at me." She looked at him as he had a serious expression. "You're one of the most goody-two-shoes people I know. Sure you can be naggy and bossy, but you got heart and lots of it, and that's what counts."

Katara was a bit surprised to hear this kind of honesty from Raph of all people, but she still spoke. "Then why are we doing this? Why am I really looking for this man?"

"Look, I get it." Raph began. "He killed your mom, and I'm sorry for that. I'll help you take him down, but be careful. Your own anger can take you down, make you act just like him. Master Splinter told me once, a true warrior finds balance in all things."

"Yeah, he told me the same thing." Katara replied. "But… what if I don't have that? What if all that's inside me… is a monster?"

"That's up to you." Raph said. "We are who _we_ choose to be, not what other people want us to be. People in our world say my brothers and I are monsters, but we don't buy that. We do the right thing cause its right. If you want to be a monster, its _your_ choice; but if you want to be a good person, or even a hero, its your choice, no one elses." Raph gave a slight smirk.

The next thing Katara did, after letting all of this sink in, was let her face fall into Raph's chest as she sobbed a bit. Raph was a bit surprised but he patted Katara's back for comfort.

"Get some rest, you're gonna need it."

Katara got up with a smile. "Yeah. Thanks Raph."

* * *

 _The Next Day_

It was a cloudy day in this small rural area in the Fire Nation. A middle-aged Yon Rha was tending to his garden, when his elderly and cranky mother came out.

"Yon Rha! You lazy piece of work! I need something!"

"Yes mother?" Yon Rha sighed. "What is it?"

"The tomato-carrots from your garden are too hard for my gums! I need something soft and juicy!"

Yon Rha tried to put on a smile as he turned to her. "Would you like something else from the garden? I would be happy to…"

"Forget your stupid garden!" His mother yelled at him. "Get your grimy-hinny to the market and buy me some real food!" She walked back inside. Yon Rha stood up and left the garden.

Storm clouds set in as he carried an empty basket and walked towards the local market. He came to a stand and started to pick some food and put it in his basket. The eerie wind blew a pair of chimes from a small building. Yon Rha had a feeling he was being watched as he turned around to see no one.

"Hello?" He turned to the storeowner. "Did you see someone?" The storeowner shook his head.

After paying for the food, Yon Rha began to walk away. He walked down a pair of stone steps, as he walked though, the feeling washed over him again. He stopped for a moment and looked back up a flight of steps.

"Hello. I someone there?"

After getting no response, Yon Rha continued on his way. However, he failed to notice that there was someone following him. Hidden behind a ledge we're the masked Katara, Raph, Zuko, and Karai.

"Is that him?" Karai asked in a whisper.

"Yes, that's him alright." Katara recognized him right away this time.

Raph put a hand on her shoulder. "Are your ready for this?" She nodded before they fell back into the shadows.

Rain finally began to pour down as Yon Rha walked down the path to his house. He stopped a moment and turned around, before walking down the path yet again. He knew there was someone following him. He stopped for a moment as he heard footsteps on the puddles.

"Nobody sneaks up on me without getting burned!" He shot a fire stream at a bush. It burnt to a crisp, which the rain quickly put out. He didn't see anyone, so he proceeded to pick up his food and continued on his way.

However, before he got a foot out, a chain was tossed at his right ankle, causing him to trip and fall over. The masked Karai appeared behind him, but before he could respond, a fire stream was shot towards him, forcing him to back up.

The masked Zuko was in front of him, along with the masked Raph.

"We weren't behind the bush." Zuko stated.

Raph took out his sais. "And I wouldn't try Firebending again, if I we're you bub!"

Yon Rha was looking quite scared. "Whoever you are, take my money, take whatever you want, I'll cooperate."

"We aren't here for anything like that." Karai told him as they cleared the way for the masked Katara.

She removed her mask and faced the man below her. "Do you know who I am?"

"No… I'm not sure." Yon Rha replied.

Katara did not like that response. "Oh you better remember me like your life depends on it! Why don't you take a closer look!"

Yon Rha got a good look at her eyes and he instantly recognized her. "Yes… Yes. I remember you now. You're the little Water Tribe girl."

* * *

 _Flashback_

"Just let her go, and I'll give you the information you want." Kya begged the younger Yon Rha.

"You heard your mother, get out of here!" He barked at the little Katara.

"Mom… I'm scared…" She uttered towards her mom in fear.

"Go find your dad, sweetie. I'll handle this." Kya assured her daughter with a comforting smile.

As the Little Katara ran out of the igloo, Yon Rha turned to face Kya again. "Now tell me, who is it? Who's the Waterbender?"

"There are no Waterbenders here." Kya told him. "The Fire Nation took them all away a long time ago."

"You're lying!" Yon Rha rebutted. "My source says there's one Waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe. We're not leaving until we find the Waterbender!"

"If I tell you, do you promise to leave the rest of the village alone?" Kya asked as she hung her head down.

Yon Rha nodded.

"It's me." Kya lied. "Take me as your prisoner."

Yon Rha smirked almost evilly. "I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today."

 _End flashback_

* * *

Yon Rha gave a fearful gulp as he had a good idea what was coming up next. However, what he, as well as Raph, Karai, Zuko, and the vengeful Katara didn't notice was that behind Katara there was a brief red glow and the invisible and intangible forms of all Five Foot Mystics appeared with lightning flashing in the background.

No one could see the Foot Mystics as they we're in their astral form, but that didn't mean they wouldn't have an influence here.

"She lied to you." Katara looked down in sorrow. "She was protecting the last Waterbender."

That took Yon Rha by surprise. "What? Who?"

She looked at him with a scowl. "ME!" She yelled a she used her Waterbending to stop the rain around them. Yon Rha could only look in shock; Zuko, Raph, and Karai looked around and saw the dome of water forming around them.

The Foot Mystics saw their chance. They spoke directly into Katara's mind. Nobody could actually hear them, but Katara heard these thoughts in her head.

" _Yes. This is your chance. Take your revenge! You have earned it!"_ The Fire Mystic influenced.

" _This man killed your own mother! He ruined your life! He deserves to die!"_ The Water Mystic influenced as well.

This did seem to get into Katara's head as she bent all the rain and water around her to form dozens of razor-sharp ice spikes.

" _Yes! Do it!"_ The Wind Mystic influenced.

With a yell, she thrusted all of them forward with the intent of tearing Yon Rha to literal pieces. He closed his eyes and held his arms out to protect himself, but nothing came. The ice-spikes just stopped.

Raph had put a hand on Katara's shoulder, she turned to him as he spoke. "Katara, is this really what you want? Is this really what your mother would want?"

Her eyes slightly widened, she turned to the man who killed her mother. She looked at him in fear.

" _Why do you hesitate?"_ The Metal Mystic questioned/influenced. _"He is right there! Strike him down!"_

" _Unleash all your hatred!_ " The Earth Mystic influenced as well. _"It is clawing to get out! Give into your darkness!"_

" _Fulfill your destiny, young Katara."_ The Fire Mystic influenced again. _"Become the killer you we're always meant to be!"_

Despite the dark influence inside her mind, she looked deep into heart and into her soul, and deep down she knew… it was wrong.

"No." She answered Raph's question. "It's not what I want at all."

She let all the ice melt and all the water fall down as she lowered her stance. Yon Rha then fell on his hands and knees and began to beg.

"I did a bad thing, I know I did, and you deserve revenge." Yon Rha begged. "So why don't you take _my_ mother? That would be fair."

Raph, Karai, and Zuko glared at him. Just how pathetic was this guy?

"I always wondered just what kind of person could do such a thing." Katara began. "And I've seen monsters like that, monsters who kill and laugh about it! I thought you would be just like that! But now I see you for what you are. You're pathetic and sad and empty!"

"Please spare me." Yon Rha begged yet again.

"But as much as I hate you…. I just can't do it." Katara closed her eyes and began to walk away. Raph and Zuko gave Yon Rha final glares before walking away.

At first, Yon Rha felt relieved, however, a small blade was thrown in front of him. He looked up in surprise to see Karai glaring down at him.

"If you truly feel remorse for what you have done, then you must find a way to atone for your sins." Karai told him. "If not, then you have a way out of this pathetic life of yours right there." She gestured to the blade. "Its your choice."

Karai walked away with Zuko, Katara, and Raph; leaving Yon Rha alone with the blade.

As they walked away; the transparent figures of the Foot Mystics looked on in disappointment.

" _How disappointing."_ The Water Mystic said. _"She showed such promise."_

" _She could have been our greatest pawn."_ The Earth Mystic agreed.

" _Regardless of our failure here, it will not stop what has been set in motion."_ The Wind Mystic stated.

" _Yes, the pieces are falling into place."_ The Metal Mystic agreed. _"Even if the Waterbender is no longer under her influence, the Avatar will still play an important role for us."_

" _Indeed. Darkness will fall, and the Avatar will be the vanguard of that Darkness!"_ The Fire Mystic exclaimed as the Mystics' astral forms vanished.

* * *

It was late in the evening. Team Avatar, the Ninja Turtles, and their allies had taken refuge in Zuko's family's beach house on Ember Island. Katara sat alone on the docks as she let her feet dangle just above the water.

"Katara!" Aang ran up to her on the docks, followed by Leo, Raph, Zuko, and Karai. "Are you okay?"

"I'm doing fine." Katara responded, not even facing the group.

"Raph and the others told us what you did." Leo told her. "I think you made the best choice."

"Yeah, I'm proud of you." Aang agreed.

"I wanted to do it so badly." Katara said. "I even felt something deep inside, it was practically yelling at me to do it. I wanted to unleash all my hate on him but… I couldn't. I don't know if its because I'm too weak to do it, or if I'm strong enough not to."

"It takes no effort or strength to kill or destroy." Leo told her. "But to show mercy, even if its to someone you hate more than anything, that right there is _real_ strength."

"You did the right thing." Aang added. "Forgiveness is the first step to take to begin healing."

Katara stood up and faced the group. "But I didn't forgive him. I will never forgive him." She said honestly.

"We get it." Raph said. "Some people ain't worth forgiving, trust me I now. But…" He smiled. "Letting go of your hate feels good, doesn't it?"

She smiled weakly. "Yeah, it does. Thanks Raph."

"Anytime."

Katara then turned to face the blue-clad Turtle. "Leo I… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I know it's no excuse but, I just hope you can forgive me."

Leo put a hand on her shoulder. "Just because a friend makes a mistake, doesn't mean you give up on them."

She looked at him with a hopeful smile. "So, we're good?"

He smiled back. "Yeah, we're good."

Katara hugged him in response, which he was happy to return. There was only one more thing she needed to do. Katara then faced both Zuko and Karai.

"Guys, thanks for helping me."

"Of course." Karai responded.

"So…" Zuko nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Does that mean… we're forgiven?"

"Actually, _I'm_ the one who should be asking for your forgiveness." Katara said, getting both their attention.

She looked to Zuko first. "You never really had a choice in any of this. Your own father kicked you out of your own home, and said the only way you could come back was to catch Aang. I didn't know about that. And, that whole thing in Ba-Sing-Se… Shredder forced you into it. You never had a choice; I can't believe I never knew that. I am so sorry."

Zuko nodded in response before Katara turned to Karai. "Karai… the Shredder, he's done… terrible things. He almost killed Aang, and he laughed at it. And learning that you we're his daughter… I thought you we're just like him… I wanted to hate you."

Karai looked down slightly. "I understand if you…"

"But its not you." Katara interrupted, getting Karai's attention. "Its never been you. It's me. I've let my anger and my hate blind me for too long."

Before Karai could give any kind of response, Katara ran forward and hugged her. This caught Karai by surprise.

"I am so sorry I misjudged you, both of you." She spoke in between tears. "It doesn't matter where you come form, or who your parents are, its what's in your heart that counts; you've proven it time and again, but I just pushed you away. Please… forgive me."

Karai slightly pushed Katara back and looked at her with a smile. "I have."

Katara smiled as she rubbed the tears from her eyes. She walked past Zuko and gave him a brief hug as well before walking towards the house.

Aang, Raph, Zuko, Leo, and Karai watched her. "You we're right about what Katara needed." Zuko said. "Violence wasn't the answer."

"It never is." Aang said with a smile.

"Than I have a question for you." Karai turned to Aang with a serious expression. "What do you plan to do when we face the Shredder?"

Aang's smile vanished; he looked down in an expression of confusion and uncertainty. Leo placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll think of something. Come on, I think we could all use a good night sleep."

"Agreed." Aang, Raph, Zuko, and Karai all said at the same time.

* * *

Katara had lain on the bed of her room as she was tired beyond belief. She let exhaustion take her as her eyes closed and she drifted off into sleep.

Within her dream, Katara appeared to be in some form of white void. "Hello, young Katara."

She turned around to see the spirit of Hamato Yoshi greet her with a smile. "Who are you?"

"My name is Hamato Yoshi." He answered

She looked in surprise before she tried to give a respectful bow. "Master Yoshi… It's an honor. The Turltes and Splinter told me a lot about you."

"And I know much about you as well, young one." Yoshi spoke. "And I have a friend who wishes to see you."

Yoshi gestured upward, Katara looked to see a bright light descending down. It then took the form of a humanoid; one wearing white clothes, identical to that of an angel. But it was the face that caught Katara's attention; she looked in surprise at the sight of it.

"Hello sweetie." Kya's spirit greeted with a smile.

"Mom?" Katara breathed.

"Yes."

Katara's eyes grew somewhat fearful as she took some steps back. "Wait… why are you here? Now? I already…?"

Kya's expression became serious. "Katara, that being that spoke with you at the Western Air Temple was not me."

"What?"

"It is true." Yoshi confirmed. "It was the work of dark magic, an evil influence had sought to corrupt you; it used your anger to try and turn you against your friends."

Katara's eyes widened before she turned to Kya. "That wasn't you?" Kya shook her head. "So… does that mean…. You're really?"

"Yes. It's me, Katara. You're real mother." Kya confirmed with a gentle smile.

Katara saw the gentle look in her eyes, they we're the same ones that she knew before. It was her. Tears formed in Katara's eyes.

"MOM!" She wasted no time in leaping into her mother's arms as she let tears of joy fall. Her mother happily embraced her as Yoshi to gave a smile.

After about a minute of hugging, they pulled apart. "Oh my little girl, you've grown up so much." Kya looked at her with pride.

"Mom I… I can't believe…" Katara couldn't find the words to say. "You're really here?"

"I've always been with you Katara. In here." She placed a hand on her daughter's heart. A sorrowful look fell on Kya's face. "I am sorry that I left you. I've watched you grow, all the hardships you've endured and I was not there for you…"

"Mom, you did it to protect me." Katara told her mother's spirit. "I know that. I don't hold any hard feelings at all."

Kya smiled as she caressed her daughter's face. "I've seen what you have done recently. I couldn't be more proud of you, and I know you're going to do great things." Her look became serious. "But you must now that our world is danger."

"I know." Katara already knew. "The Shredder has to be stopped."

"I know you will do it; you, your brother, your friends, human and turtle…" a sly smirk came to Kya's face. Aand your little boyfriend, Aang."

Katara laughed as her cheeks turned red. Hamato Yoshi placed a hand on Kya's shoulder. "We must go."

Kya nodded in understanding. "I have to go Katara. But remember, I'll always be with you, in your heart. Trust your heart, trust your friends, I love you."

"I love you to mom." Katara said as they hugged one last time. With that; both spirits of Yoshi and Kya ascended back into the white sky.

Outside of Katara's dream, the young Waterbender fell to sleep with a peaceful smile on her face.

 **Done.**

 **WOW! A lot has happened in this chapter. I hope you like it.**

 **So good news: Mai and Ty-Lee have joined up with the Turltes and Team Avatar; and Katara is now free from the Mystics' influence and has let go of her anger.**

 **However, that doesn't mean the Mystics are out of the game, they still have their own secret agenda planned. What are they up to? You'll have to find out and see later on.**

 **Just to clarify, I left Yon Rha's fate ambiguous on purpose. Karai threw him a blade and told him that he should atone for his sins, or take the easy way out (if you catch my drift). I didn't show his choice because I just wanted to give a slight chill up your spines. (Laughs evilly) Ha Ha Ha Ha!**

 **Plus, what is happening to Hama? We have confirmed that Stockman is basically using her as a genie pig. If you want to have an idea of what may happen to her, see the TMNT episode "Insane in the Membrane".**

 **Also, it would seem Shredder's plans are slowly coming together. What is Project: Meteoroid? Whatever it is, it can't be good.**

 **Oh, one quick side note. I will NOT be doing Ember Island players. Sorry to disappoint some readers, but that was not one of my favorite episodes. I have something else planned; the next chapter will have two purposes to it…**

 **It'll show the affect of Shredder's dominion over the Fire Nation and how his actions and plans are affecting the country as a whole.**

 **Team Avatar will learn the origins of the Shredder and understand just how crucial it is that they stop him (Take a look at the TMNT episodes "Secret Origins" to get an idea of what will happen).**

 **Thank you all for your patience. And just to remind you, since school has started up for me, there will be some wait between now and the next update, in addition to my job, as well as other stories I need to work on as well. Thank you for understanding. See you next time.**

 **Cowabunga!**


	30. Reflect the Past - Glimpse the Future

**Hello Everyone. I again apologize for the long wait, but I've had other stories to work on, as well as my own personal responsibilities. Now that I have free time, allow me to present to you the next chapter of Worlds Collide.**

 **I own neither Avatar nor Ninja Turtles; all rights belong to Nickelodeon.**

 **Reflect the Past – Glimpse the Future**

It was nighttime within the Foot occupied Ba-Sing-Se. High security remained guarding the massive Foot fortress where the Earth Kingdom's palace used to be. Within the fortress, in the seemingly empty launce bay for the Foot Carrier was one sole occupant.

Dark Mikey snuck around a pillar and tiptoed his way across the floor to a certain spot. He looked around to make sure no one was present before he began to pry the metal off the floor.

"Soon my love, we'll be together." He said as he reached into the hole he made and pulled out a sack. Inside the sack was a large turkey-leg.

Dark Mikey kissed his 'beloved' twice before he opened his mouth to chow down. Before he did however, Dark Raph dropped down on him, smacking his fist on Dark Mikey's skull.

"You holding out on us?!" Dark Raph angrily questioned as he caught the turkey-leg and began to walk away with hit.

Dark Mikey got up and rubbed his head. "You sir will hear from my neurologist!" He angrily shouted at Dark Raph.

Before Dark Raph got a chance to enjoy his newly acquired treat, he was smacked away by a tail from Dark Don. He growled as Dark Don grabbed the air-borne turkey-leg.

"Au Revoir you dumb behemoth!" Dark Don mocked as he tried to run, but Dark Leo grabbed him by the tail.

"Not on your life!" Dark Leo pulled Dark Don, caught the turkey-leg, and spun him in the air with his tail a few times before tossing him away.

Dark Mikey pile-drived onto Dark Leo before Dark Raph and Dark Don joined in and began to comically punch each other over the turkey-leg as it was thrown into the air, but a stream of blue flame soon incinerated it. The Dark Turtles all got up to see an annoyed Azula walking towards them.

"Are you freaks fighting again?" Azula questioned. "If those shell-brained idiots you we're made from can get along why can't you?! You're fighting over scraps like rodents when you should be hunting down those worthless, good-for-nothing Turtles!" She angrily shouted at them.

Dark Raph did not like her tone. "You got some nerve, you puny piece of Fire-Trash!" He menacingly towered over her, but she wasn't intimidated at all.

"You want to fight me you oversized reptile?! I'll happily oblige you!" Azula challenged as she produced blue flames in her hands ready to throw down.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Dark Mikey cheered.

Before the situation could escalate however, two large water tentacles came in between and pulled Azula and Dark Raph apart as Hama stood in between.

"That's enough! Let's cool it, alright?!"

"I don't recall asking your opinion, Hama!" Azula told her.

"Ooooh, someone's in a bad mood." Dark Don noticed.

"Could it be that little miss Fire Princess was abandoned by her dear friends?" Dark Mikey taunted in a mocking sympathetic tone, but was caught off a stream of blue fire was shot at him, causing him to shriek as he ducked to avoid it.

"Say that again, I dare you." Azula looked ready to kill something.

"Okay, you need to take a chill pill." Dark Leo told her. "The Shredder wants everyone here as his tech-buddies finish Project Meteoroid. The Turtles and their friends will come to us sooner or later. So back off." He told Azula.

Azula glared for a minute before conceding. "Fine." She began to walk off, leaving Hama with the Dark Turtles.

Dark Raph growled in her direction. "That brat is really getting on my nerves."

"Ugh. I know." Dark Don agreed. "Since when did we get stuck with her?"

"Since the boss told us." Dark Mikey answered. "That chick's loosing it, which says a lot coming from me, and I'm the special one!" He chuckled at that.

"So when is Project Metroid supposed to be done?" Hama asked. "I'm eager to see some fireworks."

"It should be finished in the next few days. Then we just wait for Sozin's Comet." Dark Leo answered.

"Good." Hama smiled evilly, but her smile faded as she began to cough heavily. The Dark Turtles looked at her curiously as she turned away, covering her coughing mouth with her hand. Once she was done, she looked at her hand in surprise to see some blood on it.

"What's up with you?" Dark Leo asked.

"Nothing." Hama hid her hand away. "Absolutely nothing." She began to walk away.

The Dark Turtles looked curiously in her direction before Dark Mikey laughed maniacally again. "This place is full of nutcasses!" He laughed.

* * *

 _Oroku Saki's quarters_

The unarmored, but still-menacing, leader of the Foot Clan sat at his desk as his Foot Elite arrived with a report.

"Master, we have some news." One Elite spoke.

"Speak." Oroku Saki urged.

"Master Shredder, the rebellions in the Earth Kingdom continue to rise, and the Fire Nation lacks the resources to properly combat them." The second Elite informed.

"Protests in the Fire Nation continue to rise as well." The third Elite added. "Due to the increasing costs of our project, the country is on the verge of a recession. Already multiple jobs have been lost and downsizing is on the rise, and their economy is suffering greatly."

"This is of no concern to me." Oroku Saki replied after hearing this. "You know of this."

"We are aware." The fourth Elite said. "However, if this continues, the Fire Nation will likely crumble completely and may find ways to retaliate against us. Our alliance is weakening."

"At this point, it no longer matters." Oroku Saki stated. "Project Metroid is all but finished, and Sozin's Comet is less than a week away. After that, the Fire Nation as well as the Earth Kingdom shall be swept aside. Any sign of the Turtles or the Avatar?"

"No Master Shredder." The first Elite informed. "We have not yet seen them, although all our forces are now concentrated in Ba-Sing-Se. For when they arrive, they will find great difficulty in getting to us."

"Excellent." Oroku Saki smiled.

* * *

 _Ember Island_

Our heroes; the alliance of Team Avatar, the Ninja Turtles, and their allies, have just left a theater. Sokka had suggested this particular play as a way to have some fun and lighten the mood given how grim their situation is. However, they we're not pleased about what they saw.

"That… wasn't a good play." Zuko said.

"Got that right." Leo agreed.

"I'll say." Aang also agreed.

"Worst thing I've ever seen." Raph commented.

"No kidding." Katara agreed as well.

"How can anyone call that thing a play?" Don questioned.

"That wasn't a play, that was suckitude personified." Mikey stated.

"Horrible." Suki said.

"You said it" Toph agreed.

"But the effects we're decent." Sokka pointed out, only to be smacked upside the head by Mai. "Ow!"

"This was _your_ idea by the way." Mai pointed out.

"What did you think Karai?" Ty-Lee asked her.

Karai looked at her friend. "That was the absolute worst form of entertainment to meet my eyes."

"Seriously, I need to wash my brain after seeing that crap!" Casey pointed out.

"None of that stuff actually seemed accurate." April pointed out.

Master Splinter was at the lead. Though he didn't need to voice his opinion as it was clear that he thought the play was terrible as well.

"Who was the director of that thing again?" Mikey asked.

Sokka looked at the poster. "Someone called… Bay… I think."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "I've seen some of his works before. He just focuses more on special effects rather than the actual plotline."

"What about those actors though?" Raph questioned. "Seriously? Could you even call them that?"

"I know." Katara agreed. "The girls especially didn't really seem to be actually acting! Just seemed more like eye-candy for those pre-teen boys we saw in the audience."

April was in agreement. "That one actress… M'ghan Fox, I think her name was, what was her deal?"

"You think that was bad, what the heck was up with those so-called Turtles?" Don questioned. "They looked more like green, reptilian gorillas than actual turtles!"

"We may be mutants, but there's no way we're _that_ ugly! Mikey agreed.

"And where did that giant pig and rhino come from?" Leo questioned as well. "I certainly would have remembered fighting guys like them."

"I know he's supposed to be the bad guy, but they didn't even get Shredder's name right!" Aang pointed out. "It's Oroku Saki! Not Eric Sacks! I mean seriously, how hard is it to remember?!"

"Its times like these where I'm _really_ glad I'm blind." Toph commented.

Zuko sighed. "Lets just try and forget horrible excuse for entertainment ever existed and move on."

"Agreed." Everyone, even Master Splinter, replied at the same time.

After some more walking, the group came to their current safe house; Zuko's family's old beach house. It was big enough to house all of them, Appa included; and the best part was, no one in the Foot knew about it except for Karai, so it was the last place anyone would think to look for them.

Everyone had each went to their respective rooms to get some shuteye. Aang walked into his room where Momo was already asleep at the foot of his bed. He immediately flopped down onto the mattress and fell asleep.

"Avatar… Aang… open your eyes."

Aang's eyes opened and he appeared to be in a white void. "Hello? Who's there?"

"Someone you know well." The mysterious voice came from a familiar figure whom Aang was surprised to see.

"Master Yoshi? What are you doing here?"

"Avatar, tomorrow I will show you and your friends how this all started." Yoshi told him. "You will learn the history of the Utroms and the Guardians, but more importantly, you shall learn the origins of the Shredder."

Aang became serious. "What do I have to do?"

* * *

 _The Next Morning._

"Wait… hold on… what?" Sokka questioned as she, Toph, Zuko, and Sokka we're surrounding Aang in the stone courtyard of the vacation-house. The Turltes, Splinter, Karai, Mai, Suki, Ty-Lee, April, and Casey we're nearby but back underneath the rooftop archway surrounding the courtyard.

"Yoshi's spirit is going to show us how the whole war between the Foot and the Utroms and their guardians started." Aang told him

"Yeah, you just said that Twinkle Toes." Toph responded with crossed arms. "But I think what lame-brain means is, how?"

"I'm sorry Aang, but this is just a little weird." Katara confessed. "I mean we've seen you have visions via the spirit world, but we've never done it before."

"I know its not been done, but Yoshi told me how it can be done." Aang said.

"Wouldn't it just be easier if we asked all of them?" Zuko questioned as he pointed back towards the Turtles, Splinter, and Karai.

"Yoshi told me it would be better if we we're to see it." Aang replied. The rest of the group looked a bit uncertain, causing Aang to look slightly annoyed. "Hey, you guys trust me, right?"

"Aang, of course we trust you." Katara told him. "But we've never done this before."

"Don't worry, I got you guys covered." Aang assured. "So, are you with me?"

Zuko, Katara, Sokka, and Toph looked amonst each other before they looked back to Aang and nodded, causing him to smile.

"Alright, lets get started."

"How?" Toph questioned.

"Everyone, sit down and join hands." Aang instructed as they all sat down, cross-legged, in a circle and joined hands. Aang to Katara, to Sokka, to Toph, to Zuko, and back to Aang.

"Now close your eyes." The Avatar instructed, and they did as told. "Let your mind drift back. Don't think, just let it all flow."

After about a minute of silence, Aang's tattoos began to glow as a faint white aura spread around all of them.

The others observed this. "Do they do this sort of thing often?" April asked.

"Typically." Leo answered.

"Yeah, typical Avatar stuff." Raph agreed.

"Great… so what are we gonna do?" Mai questioned.

Mikey looked towards the direction of which the beach was. "Anyone up for a swim?" He asked.

"I'm in!" Ty-Lee excitedly raised her hand.

"Sure thing." Casey agreed.

"Sounds fun." April said.

"Why not?" Suki shrugged.

Karai simply shrugged.

"Then, lets get going." Don said as the group began to make their way down to the beach.

Leo looked back towards his adoptive father. "Sensei?"

"You all go on ahead." Splinter told them. "I will stay here and watch over them." He said, referring to the meditative Team Avatar.

Leo nodded as he joined the others. Splinter kept his eyes on the Avatar and his friends as he sat down. He had a pretty good idea what they we're seeing; considering he and his sons likely had a similar experience.

* * *

Aang, Katara, Zuko, Toph, and Sokka found themselves in a white void, and all we're in the form of blue specters, not unlike when Aang would typically visit the Spirit World. Though Aang remained calm; Katara and Zuko looked more surprised, with Toph and Sokka being the most freaked out.

"Wow… I… this is…" Zuko uttered, never experiencing this sort of thing before.

"This is amazing." Katara voiced as she looked at herself. "Is this what its like for you Aang?"

"Sometimes." Aang shrugged. "It kind of depends."

"Hey! A little help here!" Sokka comically flailed his arms as he seemed to be floating in an empty void.

"Can someone tell me what's going on!?" Toph questioned. "My feet can't feel a thing! So I can't see a thing!"

"No need to panic." A new voice spoke as Master Yoshi, in the same spiritual state as them. "You are quite safe."

Katara, Sokka, and Zuko looked at this man with amazement. "Are you… Hamato Yoshi?" Zuko asked.

"I am." He confirmed.

"It's an honor." Zuko bowed.

"Uh hi… yeah… Mr. dead-ninja guy." Sokka tried to wave, having a strong feeling of awkwardness from all of this.

"I'd say 'nice to meet you' to, if I we're on solid ground!" Toph said. "So help me out here!"

"It is alright." Yoshi assured. "You will be on stable ground soon enough." He turned to Aang. "Are you and your friends ready, Avatar Aang?"

Aang nodded. "We are."

"Be warned." Yoshi advised. "Much of what you are about to see may very well change your understanding of the world, some elements may be too difficult for you to grasp, so I will help you in any way I can."

"Thank you." Aang responded.

Yoshi extended his arms and hands out and a whirlwind picked up all around them. Everyone was gathered together as the environment around him or her changed drastically. They we're no longer in a white void, but on the bridge of an alien starship.

Aang, Sokka, Zuko, and Katara looked in mixtures of shock and amazement around them, where as Toph felt herself on stable ground and sighed in relief.

"Ah finally!" She breathed, but soon felt the vibrations of the spiritual ground. "So… where are we?"

"We are onboard the starship of the Utroms." Yoshi answered. He was correct, they we're on a large starship piloted by the pink blobs that we're the Utroms.

One Utrom in particular, Mortu, was at the controls as he turned around to a container filled with liquid at the wall, with three Utroms in the container.

"Your blessing, honored Navigators?"

"Your course is straight and true…."One Navigator said with glowing blue eyes as he spoke.

"…Through the vastness of space and time…" The second Navigator continued.

"…Captain, you have the blessings of…" The third Navigator continued as well.

"The Navigators." All three finished at the same time.

This all came so fast for Team Avatar, with the exception of Aang, though he had a bit of trouble taking all this in to.

"So… these are the… Utroms?" Katara asked, to which Yoshi nodded.

"And that captain… is Mortu?" Aang asked, having remembered him from his previous vision. Yoshi nodded again in conformation.

"Could someone please describe some of this for me?" Toph asked. "I can't exactly get a good fix on these Utrom-guys."

"They're basically little pink blobs." Zuko told her. "Some of them are actually hovering off the ground."

Toph's face was blank. "Oh."

Sokka looked weirdly at the tank containing the Navigators. "So… what's with the brains in the jar?"

"They are the Navigators." Yoshi explained. "There we're a few Utroms with psychic-abilities, which we're often used to help guide voyaging vessels through space."

"That's amazing." Aang said with a smile.

"And kind of weird." Katara said, more than a bit disturbed. "I'm sorry its just… we're on an alien ship… one that is flying… through space…."

"Yeah… its a lot to take in." Zuko was in agreement.

" _You_ guys are weirded out? I can't feel anything outside this flying tin can!" Toph said.

"I know this seems overwhelming for all of you, but it is crucial that you learn this history." Yoshi said. "But… try to think of it as if you we're watching a play, perhaps that will help."

"Well anything's better than that mess we saw last night." Sokka pointed out.

Soon, the environment around them began to shift, much to the young ones' surprise, especially Toph.

"Whoa! What's happening?!"

"Like Yoshi said, think of it like a play." Aang told her. "And we're cutting to the next scene."

The environment had changed to where the spirits of Yoshi and Team Avatar we're in a security holding. They looked up to another vat filled with liquid; inside it was a red-skinned Utrom with a scar over his right eye being held in restraints.

"These security precautions are pitiful. You will never hold me." The red-skinned Utrom said in a menacing tone.

Mortu came in on his hover-pad, floating through Sokka's spiritual body, much to his displeasure, as everyone listened.

"We have finally recaptured you after a hundred year search. We're not about to loose the most ruthless criminal the universe has ever known!" Mortu declared.

"'Most ruthless criminal'?" Katara questioned in mild surprise.

The red Utrom gave an evil chuckle. "I _will_ escape, and you will all perish! That is my promise!"

"Big talk little slime-ball!" Toph shot to the red Utrom.

"Big talk little slime-ball!" Mortu repeated.

Toph gave an impressed smile. "Huh, I think I like this Mortu guy."

Mortu floated away as everyone looked up towards the evil Utrom.

"Who exactly is that?" Sokka asked.

"That is Ch'rell." Yoshi answered as he glared toward him. "A vile creature; anarchy and conquest are but the _least_ of his crimes."

Zuko glared as well. "I don't know why, but something about him just makes me sick."

"I agree." Katara glared to. "There's just… this feeling around him…. I haven't even met him, but I already don't like him."

Aang looked up towards Ch'rell and couldn't help but get this feeling; for some reason, this being that he never seemed to have even met before seemed _very_ familiar, and not in a good way.

The scene once again shifted as they found themselves back on the bridge of the ship.

"Okay, I'm getting sick of this jumping around." Toph voiced.

"Hey look." Aang pointed out the window and they saw a familiar planet.

"Is that Earth?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, my Earth." Yoshi confirmed. The Utrom ship was passing close to the green and blue planet.

An Utrom on a hover-pad hurried to Mortu with a panicked look on his face. "Captain! The Prisoner has escaped!"

"What?" Aang questioned as he and his friends looked shocked.

Mortu growled as he activated the communications. "Security, report!"

" _The Prisoner is attacking! We are… AHHHH!"_ Those screams caused Mortu to look in shock, but it turned greater as the lights in the bridge suddenly flashed before going off completely.

The Navigators began to speak, using their psychic abilities to assess the situation.

"Emergency! Power cut! Engines are offline!"

"Our minds are growing dark…"

"Cell by Cell."

"We are undone."

"Helm, you have control of the bridge!" Mortu ordered. "Security detail with me! To the engine-room!" Mortu then led his security team out of the bridge.

Team Avatar and Yoshi continued to watch this play out, with Katara, Sokka, and Aang looking the most nervous.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Sokka questioned.

"Do you think they're gonna be okay?" Katara asked.

"Whatever happens, its all history now." Aang said in a grim tone of voice. The scene shifted yet again. They we're no longer on the bridge but in a different chamber.

"I'm guessing this is the engine room." Zuko guessed.

"You are correct." Yoshi confirmed.

Mortu and two armed guards flew in on their hover pads as they searched the darkened engine-room.

"Careful, the prisoner is very crafty." Mortu warned them.

They suddenly heard the sound of electricity cackling as they looked down on the ground to see Ch'rell holding two sparkling, severed, electric cables very close together as he chuckled evilly.

"You see? I always keep my promises. Goodbye, Captain." Ch'rell pressed the exposed wires together, causing a massive energy surge, which began to rock the ship. The observing Team Avatar was looking around in shock at the rocking ship.

Outside the ship, the engines behind exploded as the entire vessel lost its trajectory and began to fall close towards the Earth, thanks to the planet's gravitational pull.

Mortu made his way back to the bridge, where the entire crew was in a state of panic. The ship rocked as Mortu held onto the controls. "Helmsman!" He called to his panicking crew. Mortu saw the planet they we're heading towards.

"Helm! Set course for that uncharted planet!"

They Utroms tried to get back in order. They knew they couldn't avoid the crash, so they tried to get it as stable as they could.

"We are Utroms. We are one. We shall not fail. We shall not fail!" Mortu said almost like a prayer.

As the ship entered the Earth's atmosphere, Aang and all his friends looked quite panicked themselves at this development, Sokka especially.

"Its not real! It's not real! It's not… WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Sokka screamed.

The ship fell at maximum speed towards the surface of the ocean. Mortu was at the controls as he tried to pull up. He was able to keep the ship from crashing into the water, but they we're soaring fast towards a landmass. He tried to pull further up to avoid a more catastrophic crash. They came closer, and closer… Right before they crashed; Aang and Katara quickly held each other with closed eyes as Toph latched onto Zuko as he and Sokka braced themselves for impact.

 ***BOOM!***

The ship had crashed on a forested area a mile or two off the shore. It was in complete ruins. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko, as well as Master Yoshi, all stood up, their spiritual bodies phasing out of the rubble.

"Are we dead yet?" Toph asked.

"No… we're good." Zuko told her as she let go.

"And it looks like so are they." Aang pointed to all the Utroms on what was left of the bridge. It looked like there we're no casualties.

Mortu regained his breath before sighing in relief at their survival.

Sokka breathed heavily. "I never… want to go… in a spaceship… for as long as I live!"

Katara let go of Aang as she looked to Yoshi. "Please tell me the worst is over."

Yoshi gave a grim expression. "No, not even close."

* * *

 _Reality; Ba-Sing-Se_

Hama sat on a chair, facing a mirror, in her own room as she looked at her body; her only clothes at the time being a white robe as she looked at herself.

"Well, everything looks normal." She said to herself. "Probably just those minor side effects Stockman said." She sat down on her bed. "After all, he said this body was foolproof."

As she lay down to try and relax, she thought she heard her door open up. "Who's there?!"

It looked as though someone was indeed walking into her room, and this person was her old friend from the Southern Water Tribe, Kana, she looked about as young as when she last saw her.

"Hama, hello. Its good to see you again." This young 'Kana' greeted her. "You're tired aren't you?" Hama seemed to smile as 'Kana' placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you get some sleep? You look like you could use some rest."

Hama lay down on her bed, letting herself fall sleep as 'Kana' stood up. "Oh, and Hama? Maybe you should get someone to look at that finger, it doesn't look too good."

Hama's eyes shot open as she woke up. "Kana?!" She looked around and saw no one was there. She rubbed her head. "Just a dream." She told herself, unaware of her hallucinations. But she felt something odd on her right hand and looked at her index finger to see it was red and swelling up.

"What?!" She questioned in shock as she suddenly stood up and fell off her bed. Her whole left hand appeared to have sores and swellings quickly form as she held her hand.

"What…. What is happening to me?!" She began to panic.

* * *

 _Genetics' Lab._

Stockman typed onto his consoles as he continued to look into the bending DNA data, and one screen it showed a recording of Aang fighting with the screen pausing and monitoring his Airbending and recording the data.

"Hmmm. Interesting." Stockman mused. "The data isn't all that different from the Earthbending, Waterbending, or even Firebending data I've studied so far." He continued to type. "But without a proper DNA sample, I lack the ability to fully analyze it."

The door opened as Chaplin walked in with a clipboard. "Uh… Dr. Stockman sir?"

"What is it Dr. Chaplin?" Stockman turned around.

"Everything is prepared." Chaplin answered. "The generator is complete and installed in the ship. At this point, Project Metroid is complete."

"Excellent." Stockman smiled. "Now all we have to do is wait for the comet."

"Dr. Stockman, if you don't mind me asking…" Chaplin began. "I know we pretty much pulled all the Fire Nation's metal from all their factories into this project, but how exactly did we have the money to afford all of this? It's FAR more than anything the Fire Nation could ever have on their own."

"Well, we had to take several of the reserves from the Earth Kingdom as well." Stockman answered. "Most notably some wealthy family called the Beifongs. But at this point, they'd be lucky just to afford the bare essentials."

"You sure this is alright, sir?" Chaplin asked again. "We've pretty much used up the entire Fire Nation's economy, and most of the Earth Kingdom's to get this done."

"Don't you worry, my boy." Stockman assured, placing a metal hand on his shoulder. "Once this is all over, none of it will matter." He looked on with a menacing smile. "After all, once we're done, the economy will be the _least_ of their concerns."

* * *

 _Ember Island beach_

While Team Avatar was having their spiritual vision; everyone else was pretty much chilling on the Ember Island beach. Ty-Lee and Mikey splashed around in the ocean, Casey was trying to get a tan, Leo was meditating with Karai, Raph was sparring with Don; Suki, Mai, and April we're sitting on a rock, engaging in idle-chit-chat.

Mikey was telling a story to Ty-Lee. "And then Raph said…" He began to intimidate Raph's voice. " 'I ain't sticking around here, I got punks to punch!' I tell ya, what a hard case."

Ty-Lee laughed at that. "I like how funny you are."

Mikey smiled. "Hey, bet I can hold my breath longer than you can!"

"Oh yeah?" Ty-Lee accepted the challenge as they both ducked under water.

While everyone seemed to be enjoying this peace-and-quiet, Master Splinter still remained inside, keeping his eye on Team Avatar as Aang's tattoos still glowed and they we're still in the vision.

* * *

 _Vision_

Night had fallen as the spirits of Aang, his friends, and Yoshi continued to watch as the Utroms we're gathered around a campfire near the ruins of their crashed ship, with the Navigators still in their tank.

"Well I'm glad everyone's okay." Aang said, observing all of it.

"So what's going on now?" Zuko asked.

"Listen and you will find out." Yoshi replied.

"My friends, and honored Navigators, we are all safe. But the ship is ruined." Mortu showed a holographic star-chart of their current location. "We are stranded on this primitive planet, millions of light-years from our home world."

"There is not enough to salvage…"

"…To repair the ship. We cannot…"

"…Return to our home world?"

"No." Mortu answered grimly.

Most of Team Avatar instantly felt sympathy for the marooned Utroms. "So… how are they gonna get home?" Katara asked.

"Captain!" A yellow Utrom, the helmsman, flew up on his hover pad. "There's a structure beyond the next rise."

As the sun began to rise over the field; Aang, Katara, Zuko, Toph, and Sokka, along with Yoshi, still as spirits walked alongside Mortu and a group of Utroms up the hill. Once at the top, they all looked at the sight of the large Japanese monastery that came into view.

Aang and his friends' eyes all went wide, even Toph's dull eyes as she could feel it with her seismic sense.

"Wow." Aang breathed. "Where are we?"

"This is Japan." Yoshi answered. Evidence to support this was the sight of a samurai practicing swordsmanship in the distance. "My home nation, 11th century Japan, in the Feudal era, over 1,000 years ago."

The young heroes looked in amazement. "This… this is amazing!" Katara said in a wide grin. "It's looks so beautiful."

"I know." Zuko breathed in agreement. "It's a sight to truly behold."

"I don't know about sight… but my feet are telling me that this is awesome!" Toph said in her own wide grin.

"Its… absolutely… incredible." Aang awed. "Not just we're on another world… in an amazing place… but this is where Ninjitsu was founded. We're at the roots of where the Turtles and Master Splinter came from!"

They seemed completely unaware that Sokka was no longer with them, until he called out to them.

"Hey guys!" They looked to see Sokka standing in front of the samurai. "Look at me! I'm Sokka the Samurai!" He took out his space-sword and made it look like he was clashing blades against the samurai's katana as he was practicing. The katana phased through Sokka as he played. "Ha! Ya!" Sokka made several dramatic attacks. "Swordbending slice!"

"Sokka!" Katara scolded. "We're standing on sacred land! The least you could do is show respect!"

Sokka grumbled as he put his sword away. "Fine. Killjoy."

Katara looked towards Yoshi. "I'm sorry about my idiot-brother."

Yoshi however looked amused. "Do not worry." He assured.

As Sokka walked, he passed by a blanket with the samurai's meal of rice-balls. Sokka's mouth drooled. "One thing that _is_ respect-worthy is the guy's food!" He quickly got to it. "There better be meat inside!" He tried to grab a rice-ball, only for his hand to faze right through it. "Huh?" Sokka repeated the process, yielding the same results as he frustratingly and stubbornly tried to grab the rice-ball that was beyond his reach.

Aang, Toph, Zuko, Katara, and Yoshi walked up. "There is some sort of lesson here." Yoshi said as everyone, even Zuko, laughed at Sokka's misfortune. "But I'm enjoying this too much to think about it." Yoshi said amusingly as he watched as well.

* * *

The scene had shifted to nighttime as the specters of Team Avatar and Yoshi watched the Utroms discuss their plan by the ruins of their ship. The Helmsman-Utrom showed a hologram of the Earth to Mortu.

"In brief Captain, we conclude that the technology on this planet is too primitive to build a flying vehicle. Let alone an interstellar ship or even a hyper-space-transmatt-device. The technology simply does not exist."

"Not yet." Mortu replied. "But we can wait."

This caught Team Avatar by surprise. "Wait…what?" Katara questioned.

"Uh… I'm not sure if I heard that right. Did he just say 'we can wait'?!" Sokka questioned as well.

"You heard correctly." Yoshi confirmed.

"They can wait?!" Toph exclaimed. "Just how long do these guys live!?"

"The average life-span of an Utrom can span several millennia." Yoshi answered.

"Seriously!?" Katara, Toph, Sokka, Aang, and Zuko all questioned at the same time.

"Wow. These guys are older than even _me_!" Aang stated.

"So let me see if I get this straight." Zuko began. "These aliens are going to wait a thousand years, ten full centuries, so they can build themselves a way to go home?!"

"Yes." Yoshi responded. "That is exactly what they did."

* * *

 _Reality, Ba-Sing-Se_

Azula was alone in an open field just outside the Foot fortress. She was practicing several Firebending forms. Throwing out several punches, kicks, and sweeps, creating multiple streaks of deadly blue flame. She finished her form by generating lightning and shooting it out of her fingers into the air. She breathed heavily, regaining her breath.

"Someone's been busy."

Azula turned around to see Hun walking onto the field with an amused grin on his face.

"What do you want Hun?" Azula impatiently asked. "I don't have time for this."

"Just checking on how the little Princess is doing." Hun said in an almost mocking tone. "You don't seem to be clicking well with Hama or those freak-Turtle-clones."

Azula looked towards Hun. "Mai and Ty-Lee, two of my best soldiers have deserted me. Now I'm being handed down to an old Waterbender and some wannabe-freaks! So pardon me if I feel like I've downgraded."

Hun smirked. "So you miss your little buddies. Guess they think Zuko and Karai are better company than you."

This was grading on Azula's nerves. "Did you come here just to give me a hard time?"

"No." Hun answered. "I came here because the Master wants everyone gathered. Project Metroid is complete."

Azula calmed down as she tried to put on a composed smile. "Well then, lead the way."

The two went back inside.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the Fortress, Oroku Saki and his Elite we're walking through the halls when a Foot soldier approached them. "Master Shredder, we have a problem."

"What is it?"

"The governor of New Ozai, Ukano and his wife, are here. They have demanded to see you." The ninja informed.

Oroku Saki looked a bit annoyed before he turned in another direction with his Elite towards the front entrance.

* * *

After a few minutes, the Foot Clan's master came to a small gathering of Foot Ninja trying to hold back a struggling Ukano.

"Let me through! Let me through!" He demanded. "Do you know who I am?! I demand an audience with your master at once!"

Oroku Saki stepped up. "Let them pass."

The Ninjas all bowed as they allowed Ukano and his wife, Michi, to come face-to-face with Oroku Saki. These we're among the wealthiest in the Fire Nation and the parents to Mai.

"Mr. Saki… does the well-being of the entire Fire Nation mean nothing to you!?" Ukano questioned

"Watch your tone!" One Elite warned. "You will refer to him as 'Master'!"

Saki raised his hand. "Let them speak."

Ukano began to speak. "It wasn't bad enough that tricky Bumi escaped and reclaimed Omashu, but you've not only taken EVERY ounce of metal the Fire Nation's factories world-wide have produced, you've also spent all our stockings into this mysterious project of yours! The entire economy of the Fire Nation is on the verge of collapse! And with the rebellions occurring across the Earth Kingdom continent; our entire nation will crumble completely! Millions of people will not only loose their jobs, but their homes and livelihoods!"

"And our daughter is missing!" Michi exclaimed. "We have not even received a letter from her!"

This did not faze Oroku Saki at all. "What is your point?"

"What is our point….?" Ukano could not believe what he just said. "Our point is that you are running the Fire Nation into the ground! We're the greatest empire in the world! And you are letting waste away!"

"A necessary sacrifice." Saki dismissed "Once Sozin's Comet arrives, none of it will matter."

"Do you understand what we are saying?" Michi questioned. "Our own country will meet its end if something isn't done immediately! You've even drained away almost our entire family's fortune!"

"You said that Fire Lord Ozai placed you in charge, if in the event something happened to him." Ukano continued. "Well start acting like a Fire Lord and help the nation you are supposed to govern!"

The Foot soldiers and the Elite did not like the tone they we're speaking to their master at, Saki himself was also growing tired of it.

"Fire Lord Ozai is dead." Oroku Saki said. "I have complete control of this nation; which includes all of its resources. I can do what I wish with it." He looked directly at Michi. "And you're daughter is a traitor."

This caught both Ukano and Michi by surprise.

"She allied herself with the Avatar and the Turtles and now stands against me, and by extension stands against the Fire Nation." Saki continued. "I have already given the order: she, as well as anyone else aligned with the Avatar and Turtles, have been marked 'kill on sight'."

Both their faces we're struck with horror.

"You…. You… you can't do that!" Michi stuttered.

"Yes I can." Oroku Saki replied. "I own this nation. Anyone who is not with me is against me, and I crush anyone who stands against me!"

Ukano shook his head. "No… No… Fire Lord Ozai would never…!"

"He most certainly would." Saki interrupted. "He couldn't care less for the safety of his people, only his own personal power. Ozai had many flaws, but his greatest was his inability to properly rid the Fire Nation of dead weight!"

Ukano and Michi shook with fear and shock as Oroku Saki said that.

He turned to his soldiers. "Escort them out, and see to it that they do not bother me again."

"Yes Master." One Foot Ninja replied as they began to escort the stunned and horrified nobles out the main gate.

* * *

 _Vision_

It was daytime in Japan as Mortu and a few Utroms hid in several bushes, observing the ongoing humans, who remained oblivious of the aliens' presence. The spirits of Yoshi, Aang, Zuko, Katara, Toph, and Sokka watched as well.

* * *

Later that night, the spirits of Yoshi and Team Avatar watched with the Utroms as Mortu and the Helmsman we're ready to display a new invention to them.

"From our technology that we've been able to salvage from the crash, I give you…" The Helmsman began as he and Mortu lifted the covering to reveal a robotic-exo-skeleton. "The Exo-Suit!"

"What is that?" Katara asked.

"It is a suit of sorts." Yoshi explained.

The Helmsman explained its function to the Utroms, while simultaneously answering Katara's question. "With the proper covering…" He flew in his hover-pad, into the open chest area. "This will allow us to move among these humans, undetected."

"So it's a disguise for them." Sokka assumed.

"That is correct." Yoshi confirmed.

"Some disguise." Toph said. "Anyone with feet like mine can tell the difference."

"They would later develop more advanced suits that would better hide themselves from human eyes." Yoshi said.

"Well I think its pretty cool." Aang said, observing the exo-suit.

The Helmsman struggled to get full control as he started it. "I believe a field test… is in order."

* * *

The next day, the Helmsman was preforming the field test with the exo-suit. It wore a red robe with a basket hat as it walked in public. Yoshi's spirit, as well as Aang and his friends walked alongside him. He struggled at first, but was able get full control. As he walked, no one seemed to notice anything odd and passed by, everyone minding their own business.

"Well, looks like it works." Zuko observed.

"Gotta give credit to these Utroms, they know what they're doing." Katara said.

Sokka looked impressed. "I'd certainly like to get my hands on some of their tech."

"Now that I'd love to see." Toph stated with a grin. "Or feel… well… you know what I mean."

Everyone, even Yoshi shared a laugh as the Helmsman in his exo-suit walked into a forest of bamboo trees.

"Ah satisfactory. Most satisfactory." The Helmsman stated with pride. "Test-run concluded. First outing a complete success." The exo-suit's foot however caught on a string that was tied in front of him.

"What?"

Everyone looked up in surprise to see an incoming log on rope swinging down. "It's a trap!" Aang exclaimed.

There we're a few yells and short screams from Team Avatar as the log swung through them and into the exo-suit, knocking the Helmsman down on the ground. He was a bit disoriented as he was almost knocked out of the suit completely.

A small shadow loomed over him. The Helmsman looked up and gasped in terror. "You!"

Ch'rell stood up from a rock, looking down on him. "What a wonderful toy. I want to play." He said sadistically, taking a liking to the exo-suit.

Aang, Sokka, and Katara looked in shock while Zuko and Toph glared. "It's him! That evil Utrom guy!" Sokka pointed out

"Ch'rell!" Zuko growled.

The red Utrom knocked the Helmsman out of the exo-suit before he himself got into it.

"Here I was hopping he died in that crash." Toph said in an angry tone of voice.

"You and me both." Zuko agreed.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka glared as well, as did Yoshi, as they saw Ch'rell stand up in the exo-suit, giving an evil chuckle. The Helmsman tried to run away on his tentacles, but Ch'rell easily caught him and picked him up as the evil Utrom continued to laugh.

"Like I said before, I _really_ do not like him!" Katara glared daggers at him.

"If this we're real life I'd grab that little red blob and squish him!" Sokka exclaimed angrily.

Glares intensified as Ch'rell threw the helmsman away. Aang glared on but sighed. "Guys, as much as we hate this, we can't do anything about it." He said as they watched Ch'rell walking away.

"You're sure?" Zuko asked. "Because personally, I'd love to burn that little piece of…"

"Ease your aggression." Yoshi stated. "This is already happened, and we can only observe. Even if we wished to intervene, we cannot." He said reluctantly as they watched him walk off, and Ch'rell chuckled one more time before the scene around them changed again.

This time, they we're back at the ruins of the ship; multiple exo-suits we're now being built by the Utroms, including the Helmsman, who sustained a head-injury from his encounter with Ch'rell.

"What's going on?" Katara asked.

"Time has passed." Yoshi answered. "A few months have passed since that incident."

"Months?!" Aang and Sokka questioned at the same time.

"Well… what's happening now?" Zuko asked.

Toph's eyes widened as her feet picked something up. "Guys…"

Several black-and-grey clad ninjas appeared as they threw down small explosives at the Utroms' equipment, causing several explosions and fires, starting panic among the Utroms.

"What the… who are these guys?!" Sokka questioned.

Zuko saw a familiar symbol on the shoulder of one of the ninja. "No way… those are Foot soldiers!"

"What?!" Katara questioned.

"The Foot!? Seriously?!" Toph questioned as well.

"Yes." Yoshi said. "These are the original Foot Ninja."

"But how I…" Aang stuttered, but something else happened as someone else arrived on the scene.

As the Ninja regrouped together, a new individual, clad in heavy armor leaped down. It wasn't just the armor that struck them it was the design of it, as it bore a very _strong_ resemblance to someone they all knew and feared.

Everyone in Team Avatar gasped at the sight of this person.

"Guys… is that… who I think it is….?" Katara stuttered, her voice trembling.

"He looks… almost like… the Shredder!" Aang stuttered as well.

"He looks _too much_ like the Shredder!" Zuko stated in shock.

"There's no way though…." Sokka breathed.

This 'Feudal-Shredder' raised his claws. "Ninjas attack! Destroy them all!"

Toph's own eyes widened again. "He even _sounds_ just like the Shredder!"

Despite the armed Utrom-Exo-Skeletons, the Foot soldiers we're far too quick for them and we're easily able to beat them down. Several tried to pile on top of the Feudal-Shredder, only for him to throw them off. He soon came face-to-face with Mortu in his own exo-suit.

"What is the meaning of this?! We mean you no harm!" Mortu exclaimed, but the Feudal-Shredder didn't appear to listen as he attacked Mortu.

He kicked him back, and then laid several punches and palm strikes before kicking him to the ground.

"We come in peace!" Mortu pleaded.

"But you will go, in _pieces_!" The Feudal-Shredder lifted his foot and attempted to stomp on him, but Mortu rolled out of the way.

Team Avatar continued to watch this with wide eyes. The first to speak was Sokka. "No way! There's no way this guy is the same Shredder!"

"Yeah! This is a thousand years ago! It has to be his ancestor or something!" Katara agreed, but was still shocked at the sight of this.

Aang looked towards the spiritual master. "Yoshi…"

Before Yoshi could answer, the scene shifted again, this time it was night and they all stood in front of a small shack as a sword-smith and his assistants worked on a blade.

"Wait… what happened?!" Aang questioned, as they we're in a new location.

"Where the heck are we _now_?!" Toph questioned to.

"Who was that guy?!" Zuko demanded, referring to the Fedual-Shredder.

"What happened to the Utroms?!" Katara asked.

"What is going on!?" Sokka practically demanded.

Yoshi raised his hand. "Please!" He silenced them. "The Utroms we're able to escape, but barley. And yes, those warriors we're the original Foot Ninja."

"But what about that guy? Was he an ancestor to Shredder?" Sokka asked.

"That, you will see at the end of this." Yoshi said.

"So where are we now?" Aang asked.

"The shop of a sword-smith." Yoshi answered, pointing to said shop.

"And why are we here?" Zuko questioned.

"You will see shortly." Yoshi pointed to the bamboo trees. Everyone looked in surprise as they saw the Feudal-Shredder and a few Feudal-Foot-Soldiers walk out and towards the shop.

The sword-smith and his assistants immediately bowed in his presence as the Feudal-Shredder approached them.

"Sword-smith, is it finished?"

"Hai, Tonosama." The sword-smith presented in a long cloth the finished blade. "I made the blade just as you requested." He unwrapped the cloth to show the blade. "The metal… is amazing. I have never seen its like before."

The Feudal-Shredder picked up the blade. "Nor will you ever again." He pulled out a handle, which looked very familiar to Team Avatar. "Let us just say the metal… fell from the Heavens."

He placed the blade into the handle, and it immediately lit up with energy, much to the shock of the sword-smith and his assistants; Team Avatar also looked in shock.

"Just as the Ninja are said to have descended from Goblins…" The Feudal Shredder handled the weapon. "Behold! The Goblin Sword! The Sword of Tengu!"

There was a collective gasp from Team Avatar once they heard those words.

The Feudal-Shredder pointed the energized sword at the sword-smith. "And now for your, _payment._ " He shot a blast from the sword and blasted the sword-smith and his assistants right through the back wall of his shop.

"The Sword is perfect!" He began to boast. "With it, my enemies will not be able to hide! I will find them, and destroy them!" He gave a loud and mighty laugh as Aang, Katara, Sokka, and even Toph looked in fear, while Zuko and Yoshi glared.

"So… that's how…" Aang breathed. "That's how the Sword of Tengu was built."

"But what did he mean by the metal 'fell from the Heavens'?" Katara asked.

"The metal is Utrom technology." Yoshi answered. "The Foot would later infuse the advanced technology with mystic totem and abilities, thus making it the weapon you know today."

"So that's why the Sword's so powerful." Zuko deduced.

The scene began to shift once more. This time, it was in a hidden cave where all the Utrom in exo-skeletons we're hiding, and with them several humans clad in blue ninja robes.

"Where are we now?" Toph asked.

"A hiding place of the Utroms." Yoshi answered. "As you know; with the Foot now wielding the Sword of Tengu, the Utroms alone could not fend them off. They would need help if they we're to survive. So they've selected several humans whom they personally observed, humans whom they believed we're noble and honorable, and would keep their existence a secret to the world."

Yoshi pointed to the scene where Mortu, in his exo-skeleton was presenting a golden medal with the symbol of the Utrom over the head of one of the humans. Aang recognized the symbol and the garb.

"The Guardians. These are the Guardians! You're predecessors Yoshi!" Aang said to him almost excitedly

"They are indeed." Yoshi confirmed. "And with that, so began the thousand-year-long secret war. The Utroms and their guardians would seek refuge to not only protect themselves, but also await for when humanity had developed the necessary technology for them to use to build themselves a way home. But the purpose of the Guardians was not just to protect the Utroms, but to protect the world from the menace of the Foot which sought complete and absolute dominance."

"And this war continued for a thousand years?" Zuko asked, to which Yoshi nodded. "And I thought the war in our world was terrible."

Aang and all his friends had done their best to take this all in. In all honesty, it was a bit overwhelming for them. While many of their questions had been answered, many more had emerged from this experience. But they weren't done yet.

* * *

 _Reality; Ba-Sing-Se; Foot Central Command_

Oroku Saki and his Elite stood waiting in his main chambers. The door opened to reveal Azula, Hun, the Dark Turtles, and Hama enter the room.

"Welcome." Oroku Saki greeted his comrades. "I trust you have all been well informed?"

"Your supposed Project Metroid is finally ready." Azula said.

"Indeed it is." Oroku Saki confirmed. "Allow me to show you." He turned around as he approached the back wall. He pressed a few buttons on an adjacent keypad and a set of double-doors opened from the wall to reveal an elevator. He motioned for everyone to walk inside, which they did.

"Ooooh. Big secret elevator." Dark Mikey sung. "Things are getting very interesting."

"Blah-blah-blah, when are we gonna smash something?" Dark Raph questioned as they walked inside. The doors closed as the elevator descended.

"You won't be smashing anything yet, dolt." Dark Don told the red clone, causing him to growl.

"Knock it off you morons." Dark Leo scolded. He turned to the master of the Foot at the front. "So everything's ready?"

"Yes." Saki replied as the elevator came to a stop. "Everything that I have planned since my arrival to this world, since learning of the existence of Sozin's Comet has lead to this." The doors opened as they all walked out and into a massive laboratory area where many Foot technicians we're working, along with Stockman and Chaplin who gave bows to Oroku Saki and company as they walked in.

"And now all that I have worked for is now finally in my grasp!" Oroku Saki stated as they walked out of the laboratory and showed something that made everyone; Azula, Hama, Dark Leo, Dark Don, Hun, Dark Mikey, even Dark Don all look in shock.

It was a massive silo, and in it was a gigantic rocket-like starship, made entirely out of metal. It was dark blue and black with large spikes all across the sides. It pointed straight upward almost like a massive missile.

"Is… is that.. a ship?" Hama questioned.

"Indeed it is." Stockman confirmed as he and Chaplin joined them. "This magnificent device is the result of all the alien technology acquired from both the Triceratons and Federation from our dimension, combined with all the vast metals the Fire Nation's factories we're able to reproduce! A true technological wonder!" Stockman boasted with wide arms.

"Our own gravity generator has been built directly into it." Chaplin informed Saki. "Reverse-engineered from the blue prints of the Triceratons' _anti_ -gravity generator."

"Perfect." Oroku Saki smiled.

Azula stood alongside him. "I must admit… no one… not even my father or other past Fire Lords could even conceive of something this magnificent."

"Now all that's left is to wait for Sozin's Comet." Hun stated.

"Yeah, and once it shows up… then we'll be in for some real fireworks!" Dark Mikey laughed maniacally.

"However…" Saki spoke up as he turned to all his servants. "It would appear that we have encountered a slight problem."

"Of course." Dark Leo stated. "The Turtles and that Avatar-runt are still out there."

"I'm not just talking about them." Oroku Saki replied, surprising the group. "I believe that we may have a traitor in our midst."

Everyone was greatly surprised by that, Chaplin appeared the most surprised. "Uh… a traitor master? Are you sure?"

"I find the sudden escape of Mai and Ty-Lee, as well as their appearance to aid our enemies at the Air-Temple attack to be far from coincidence." Oroku Saki stated.

"What idiot would be stupid enough to try and betray us?" Dark Don questioned.

"Zuko and Karai." Azula replied. "They must have someone here working for them."

Hun nodded. "They probably made contact with their agent before they left the Foot."

Stockman quickly raised his robotic hands. "I'd like to point out that for the record it is not me!" The Elite, Hun, and even Oroku Saki looked at him suspiciously. " _This_ time." Stockman added.

Hama looked towards Oroku Saki. "So, have any idea who it may be?"

"And when I can crack their skull like a peanut?" Dark Raph asked as he punched one of his talon-knuckles into the ground for emphasis. Chaplin silently gulped at that.

"We will find out soon enough." Oroku Saki said. "You will help me to root out this traitor, whoever they may be."

"Yes, Master Shredder." The Elite, Hun, Dark Leo, Dark Raph, Azula, Hama, Stockman, Dark Don, and Chaplin said at the same time.

"You got it boss!" Dark Mikey saluted.

No one, not even Oroku Saki himself seemed to notice Chaplin looking nervously.

* * *

 _Five Minutes later_

Chaplin was in his personal quarters. He made sure the door was locked and that he wasn't followed on his way here. He quickly went to his computer and typed several commands, making sure this signal was hidden.

"Karai, I'm sending you an encrypted message." Chaplin began to say in his message. "Bad news: Project Meteoroid is complete. And worse news, Shredder knows there's a spy in the Foot; he doesn't know its me though, at least not yet. I can't do anything more that might give me away, so I'm going under radio silence. The rest is up to you now. Chaplin out."

Chaplin pressed one more key and sent the message. Now all he could do was hope that Karai, Zuko, and their friends we're ready.

* * *

 _Team Avatar Vision_

The scene had shifted once more. The spirits of Yoshi and Team Avatar found themselves in a new location; a technologically advanced room with red cracking and glowing lines spread across the room, along with Mortu, several other Utroms, a few Guardians, even Professor Honeycutt, and even more surprising, their friends; the Turtles and Splinter.

"It's the guys!" Aang noticed the Turtles.

"Master Splinter?" Katara questioned.

"Okay… what's going on? Where are now?" Zuko asked.

"We are still in the past, just a more recent past." Yoshi explained. "More than one thousand years have passed since the Utroms crash landed on Earth, a thousand years since they've founded the Guardians and fought against the Foot, and now they are ready to finally go home."

"So they finally built themselves a way home?" Toph asked.

"Yes." Yoshi answered. "They developed a device that could teleport them… or for your understanding, turn their bodies into a mass of light and send it straight to their home planet."

Sokka had a look of geeky-amazement at that. "Wow. That is so cool!"

"Why are the Turtles and their sensei here though?" Zuko asked

"The Turtles and Splinter have by now met the Utroms and became their allies in the fight against the Foot." Yoshi explained. "And now they are exchanging they're goodbyes."

"But what's with the room?" Katara asked, looking at all the red crack-like lines spread across the walls, floor, and ceiling.

"The Foot had planted a bomb and the entire building is now set to blow." Yoshi explained. Causing the young Team Avatar to look in surprise.

"Man, talk about going out with a bang." Toph commented.

"Guys, listen." Aang got his friends attention as they watched the vision from the past play out.

Splinter was facing Mortu in his exo-suit while the remaining Utroms, Guardians, and Honeycutt we're on the Hyperspace-Transmat; ready to go home to the Utrom home world.

"It has been an honor to know you and your race, Mortu-san" Master Splinter bowed in respect.

"It is _we_ who are honored Master Splinter." Mortu bowed back. "Before we leave, a small token of our appreciation." He opened his hand, where a small blue orb materialized in his hand. Mortu then presented it to Master Splinter.

Once it reached Splinter's hand, he instantly had his own vision. Though everyone was unable to see it, it was of Yoshi as Mortu spoke.

"Your Master Yoshi was the most loyal guardian that ever served the Utrom. He gave his life to protect us, but his spirit lives in our collective history."

Master Splinter shed one single tear in his right eye as he smiled. While at the same time, Aang and Katara looked up to the spirit of Yoshi himself with smiles as they pat his arms, Sokka gave a gratitude-filled pat on the back, Zuko nodded to him with a smile as Toph gave one of her typical punches to Yoshi's arm with her own grin. Yoshi gave a smile to the youngsters who just showed him one of the biggest expressions of respect and admiration they could give.

Mortu spoke to Splinter and the Turltes as he kneeled with his exo-suit. "And now my friends, you must leave this building while you still can." He stepped out of his exo-suit and onto the floor. "Donatello, if you would do me the honor of powering up the transmat?"

"Sweet!" Don excitedly exclaimed as he ran to the controls while Mortu got onto the pad. "I'm all over it!"

However before he could even work, multiple shurikens flew right into the controls, causing them to spark. The Turtles, Splinter, and the spirits of the Gaang looked in shock.

"What's going on? What just happened?!" Sokka questioned.

Everyone, both in the vision and in spirit, looked in the direction of where the shurikens came from.

"Oh no." Katara breathed in terror.

The Shredder, as well as Hun and his Elite Ninja all stood at the entrance with hateful glares.

"As long as I live, you will not leave this place alive!" The Shredder declared.

While the Turtles and Splinter each had their own expressions of shock and fear; the spirits of the Gaang had similar reactions. Aang and Katara looked in shock, Sokka was one of wide-eyed fear, Toph and Zuko gave hateful glares, as did Yoshi.

They could only watch as the Shredder leaped into the air straight for the heroic mutants. He kicked Leo away as he fell, delivered a sweeping roundhouse to knock down Raph and Splinter, and batted away the incoming Don and Mikey.

Aang looked in surprise. "I forgot just how good he was."

"He just took down the Turltes _and_ Splinter in less than a second!" Sokka exclaimed.

Shredder walked up on the transmat. "Our thousand-year struggle ends now!"

One of the Guardians drew his sword to defend the Utroms as he faced Shredder. Before the Shredder could strike however, Leo came in with a kick across Shredder's face. Don, Raph, and Mikey came in with similar attacks, and finally Splinter jumped in front of Shredder and kicked him off the transmat and away from the Utroms.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Toph cheered for the Turtles.

One of the Guardians was about to join them. "No." Don stopped him. "Protect your masters, _we'll_ handle the Shredder."

The Elite tried to help Shredder up, but he brushed off their hands. "Let me finish the Turltes." Hun requested.

"No! They are mine!" Shredder exclaimed as he stood up on his own. "You and the others track down Stockman! He is still of some use to me!"

The Elite and Hun left the chamber as Shredder saw Don working on the controls. "No!"

Despite the damage, Don was still able to power up the transmat as he pressed the main activation button.

"We shall meet again." The head-Guardian told the Turtles as the transmat activated.

"After ten centuries, I will not be denied my revenge!" Shredder declared, but that declaration caught Aang, Katara, Zuko, Sokka, and Toph completely off-guard.

"Wait… did… he just say… ten centuries?!" Zuko questioned.

"He did." Yoshi nodded.

"But… if that's true… than… that means…" Aang's eyes widened in realization and horror as he figured it out.

"Yes. The Shredder you see now, and the one you face today, is in fact the same one from a thousand years ago." Yoshi confirmed.

Their looks of shock could not be described by mere words. "What?! How is that possible?!" Katara questioned.

"Seriously, not even _Aang_ is that old! And he's been alive for one-hundred years!" Sokka exclaimed.

"What, is the Shredder immortal or something!?" Toph questioned as she held her head like she we're about to loose it.

"Wait and see for yourself." Yoshi gestured back to the scene as Shredder tried to run at the transmat as it activated, only for Splinter and the Turtles to stand in his way, but even if they didn't it was already too late.

The transportation was complete. In a beam of blue light, the Utroms, their Guardians, and Professor Honeycutt had transported away back to their home planet. They we're gone and outside the Shredder's reach. While the young warriors of Team Avatar could be relieved at the fact the Utroms we're able to get back home, they could only look in suspense as Shredder remained silent… an expression of disbelief was evident I his eyes as he saw his enemies slip through his grasp. He gave a death-glare towards the mutants in his path.

"You." Shredder spoke in a tone that sent a chill down even Zuko's spine. "You have been little more than thorns in my side!" He said to the glaring Turtles and Splinter. "But now you have robbed me of my triumph! And for that, you shall pay with your lives!"

The Shredder tried to bring his claws down, but Splinter blocked his attack with his staff.

"Shredder, there is no time! The building is about to implode! Even you could not survive!"

Shredder gave a punch with his other hand that broke Splinter's staff in two. "Then we shall all perish! Together!"

"What?! Has he completely lost it?!" Toph questioned.

"You're saying that like he hadn't already before." Zuko commented as they watched in suspense at this playing out.

Don tried to smack his staff on Shredder's helmet, but it actually broke in two upon contact, much to his shock. Shredder kicked Don away and towards the bomb, which counted down close to detonation. Splinter was next to be thrown back as Mikey tried to smack his nunchucks across Shredder's body.

"Come on guys! Take him down!" Sokka called to them, despite knowing they couldn't hear him.

"You got this! Beat him!" Katara called as well.

Raph threw out both his sais at Shredder, but he jumped and while airborne, he was able to catch both sais in his hands. Upon landing he delivered a powerful kick to Raph to send him flying before delivering a similar kick to Mikey to send him back as well. This however left him open for Leo to deliver a slash to knock Shredder down as well as the sais out of his hands.

"Thanks bro." Raph thanked as he picked up his weapons. He faced Shredder from the left and Leo faced the villain from the right.

Raph was the first to attack as he lunged forward, slashing Shredder multiple times, creating large cuts in his armor, which oddly sparked electricity out of them. Leo mimicked the action with his swords, slashing and creating more sparking cuts in Shredder's armor as he screamed in pain.

"Wahoo! Go guys! Ninja-Turtle-Slice!" Sokka cheered enthusiastically as he 'sliced' with his own hand.

Don soon got an idea as he ran to the transmat's controls. "Guys! Use your weapons to penetrate his armor!" He kicked open a paneling to reveal several wires. "I think we can stop him for good!"

"Go guys! You got this!" Katara cheered for them as Leo threw Splinter one of his katanas. Splinter jumped up and drove the blade right into Shredder's right shoulder.

"Yeah! Kick his ass!" Toph cheered.

"Alright! Wahoo!" Sokka cheered again.

"Come on! Take him down!" Zuko exclaimed.

"I know you can do it!" Aang cheered as well.

Raph and Leo both came in at the same time and stabbed Shredder from multiple directions with sword and sai alike. Mikey even threw in his nunchucks.

Aang, Katara, Sokka, even Toph gave cheers at this, Zuko looked on in suspense while Yoshi's expression remained serious as they saw the state Shredder was in. Leo's swords, Raph's sais, and Mikey's nunchucks we're embedded into him with electricity sparking out of the wounds.

"You… pathetic creatures… cannot… hurt… me!" Shredder declared, though he sounded like he was in extreme pain.

"Preach it to the quire bucket-head!" Toph exclaimed.

"Don't be so sure!" Don said in response to Shredder as he held two expose wires in his fingers. He placed them together where a surge of electricity shot out and directly into Shredder's penetrated armor. It shot through him in all directions as he yelled in agony before falling down.

"YEAH! WAHOO!" Sokka cheered with his squeaky voice.

"They got him!" Katara cheered as she and Aang shared a hug.

"Good riddance to that bastard!" Toph said with a wide grin.

"Wait…." Zuko said. "If they got him here, then how is he still alive in our world?" He asked as the Turtles and Splinter gathered around his seemingly lifeless body.

The Gaang's smiles vanished. "Yeah." Aang looked to Yoshi. "How is he still alive even after that?"

"You wondered how he was able to live for more than a millennium?" Yoshi pointed to the Shredder's downed body. "There's your answer."

Everyone, both the spirits of Team Avatar, as well as the Turtles and Splinter looked in surprise to see steam shot out from the Shredder's chest. A compartment opened up in the abdomen area to reveal a pair of eyes inside.

Both Aang and Don spoke the same thing at the same time. "The Shredder's…. AN UTROM!?"

He was indeed. A _very_ familiar red-skinned Utrom crawled out of the body, revealed to be an exo-suit all along.

"That's not just any Utrom…" Katara shuddered, recognizing him from the earlier vision.

Both Sokka and Mikey screamed at the same time. "It's him!" Sokka screamed.

"It's the prisoner dude!" Mikey screamed simultaneously with Sokka.

"Ch'rell!" Zuko exclaimed in a glare.

"The same little slime-ball who…." Toph began.

"Who escaped after causing Mortu's ship to crash on Earth a millennium ago!" Ch'rell revealed.

"He ain't so tough now!" Raph stated as he punched his fist into his palm. "Let's just squish him!"

"I'd squish that little blob myself if I had the chance!" Toph was in agreement.

Everyone soon looked in shock however as Ch'rell leaped from the destroyed armor and onto Raph's face in an attempt to smuggle him. Raph tried to speak, but it only came out in muffles.

"What did you say?" Ch'rell said in a mocking laugh. "I cannot seem to hear you!"

"Man that is one nasty bug!" Sokka exclaimed, still not over the fact that the Shredder was Ch'rell all along.

"Seriously, who saw that coming!? I sure didn't!" Aang exclaimed.

"Yeah… I didn't see this coming either!" Katara agreed.

Leo attempted to pry Ch'rell off Raph's face only for the evil Utrom to attempt to bite him. However, Splinter was able to stick a rod under Ch'rell's body and pry him off Raph's face to send him flying to the wall.

Don quickly got to work on the transmat as they had less than ten seconds before the bomb would go off.

"Guys quick! I've got the transmat recalibrated!"

Everyone quickly ran to the transmat as it powered up. "Lets hope wherever we're going is a lot better than the last place we went!" Leo said as they ran to the transmat.

Ch'rell tried to scurry after them as the bomb counted down from six seconds. Five seconds remained as Ch'rell tried to jump into the beam and be teleported out with them. The Turltes and Splinter we're beamed out with four seconds remaining. Three seconds remained as Ch'rell missed his opportunity and landed on the ground with only two seconds left.

"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ch'rell screamed with wide eyes as the bomb reached zero and all exploded in a flash of light.

Aang, Zuko, Toph, Katara, and Sokka attempted to shield themselves as the area around them faded to white.

"And now, you know." Yoshi said, as everyone seemed to calm down and look at him. "Now you understand how the Foot came to be, and the reason the Shredder hunted down the Utroms."

"I still can't believe it." Aang said. "All this time, possibly the worst and most evil enemy we've ever faced was really just one Utrom?"

"He wasn't 'just one Utrom'." Yoshi stated. "Ch'rell has committed countless atrocities across my universe. He is responsible for over millions of deaths."

"He's really that bad?" Katara asked as Yoshi nodded.

"But now it makes sense." Zuko said. "Now we know how he survived all this time, and why he hunted the Utroms down."

"I can't wait to rip that little bug apart with my bear hands!" Toph exclaimed

"But… what does we want now?" Sokka asked. "What is he after with our world?"

"That I do not know for certain." Yoshi confessed. "You must find out on your own. Rejoin your friends and be prepared, the time of your final confrontation with the Shredder draws near, and it may very well be the most difficult battle you've ever endured."

Aang closed his eyes and opened them with declaration. "We'll be ready."

"I hope that you will be." Yoshi said. "Go now. Return to your friends." The vision faded as everyone was returned to his or her bodies.

* * *

 _Two hours later_

After Aang and his friends returned to their bodies, they all met up with Splinter, Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey, Karai, Mai, Ty-Lee, April, Suki, and Casey and told them everything they've learned about the Utroms as well as the Shredder's true identity.

"Wait… wait… let me get this straight." Mai began. "The Shredder… the very same psychopath who overthrew the Fire Nation and is trying to kill us… is really just a little alien bug?!"

"More like a slug than a bug." Sokka pointed out.

"Still, its a lot to take in." Suki said. "There's also the fact that he's been alive for more than a thousand years."

"Suddenly he doesn't sound all that scary anymore. I mean, since you guys say he's only about this big Ty-Lee stated as she held out her hands to motion the small size of an Utrom.

"Oh don't be fooled, he's still plenty scary, and dangerous." Don told her.

"Yeah, when I first found out the Shredder was an Utrom, I nearly soiled my shell!" Mikey added.

"Nasty little bug." Raph grunted in disgust.

"Yeah that reminds me." Katara began as she looked at the Turltes. "You guys knew the whole time what Shredder really was, right?"

The four Turtles grimaced a bit. "Yeah. We knew." Leo confirmed.

"Well… why didn't you tell us?" Katara asked.

"Yeah that little bit of info could _really_ have been useful." Toph said with crossed arms.

"Be honest, would you guys really believe us?" April asked. "A deranged, murderous, psychopath is really an alien in a robotic suit?"

"Okay, when you put it that way, it does sound too fantastic." Sokka admitted.

"Yeah, _we_ still find it hard to believe that little slime-ball's still causing us so much trouble." Casey added.

Zuko gave a chuckling grunt. "Wonder how Azula would take it if she knew that her new 'master' was really just a tiny red slug?"

"She'd probably either be _really_ freaked out, or _really_ pissed." Mikey said. "I'd bet even she'd probably faint." He joked, causing Ty-Lee to giggle and even Mai to smirk.

"None of it matters however." Master Splinter said, getting everyone's attention. "The identity of this evil monster does not matter. He still must be stopped. His shadow looms over this world, threatening every living being within it. We must prepare ourselves for we must confront him soon."

"Sooner than we may think." Karai spoke up. "While all of you we're having your vision, I received a message from Chaplin. The Shredder is aware there's a spy in his midst."

"He knows about Chaplin?" Zuko asked.

"Not yet." Karai replied. "But he has to go under radio-silence now. We cannot rely on him at this point. Also, the Shredder's plan is near completion so we must prepare."

"Karai's right." Leo stated. "The Shredder must be stopped. No matter the cost."

As he said that, Aang looked down a bit in uncertainty. While he agreed the Shredder had to be stopped, he wondered though if right now, he was currently ready.

 **Done.**

 **So Team Avatar has learned of the Shredder's true identity. We have also caught a glimpse of Project Metroid. We have also seen what Shredder is doing with the Fire Nation. He really isn't actually ruling the country, but rather using up all its money and resources for his own benefit. He's basically running the Fire Nation into the ground, and he doesn't care so long as it serves his needs, in which case, it has. Also, Hama's body is already starting to deteriorate; she is suffering from hallucinations and her body isn't doing so well** **either.**

 **Before you all ask, yes the ship Shredder has built is the same kind of ship that was seen in the TMNT Season 3 finale "Exodus". Shredder's plan is coming together.**

 **Just one small request. I won't be saying yet what Shredder's plan is with his ship as well as Sozin's Comet, but if any of you have any theories or have possibly figured it out on your own, I ask that you PLEASE do NOT put your theories/guesses in your reviews. I still want to surprise my readers and I prefer not to give any spoilers.**

 **Thank you.**

 **Up next is the exciting and explosive Sozin's Comet Four-Part-Finale! Things are obviously going to be different than in the cannon. I will be keeping elements from the original ATLA show in the first two parts, and adding my own; for parts 3 and 4, I will be borrowing elements from "Exodus". Again, please do NOT put any theories/guesses in your reviews.**

 **I'm sure you are all looking forward to reading what's coming, and I'm looking forward to writing it. But I have other stories that need updating, as well as my own responsibilities with work and school, so you will have to wait.**

 **I thank you for your patience, and I will be back soon with Part 1 of Sozin's Comet.  
I hope you enjoy it. See you soon and COWOABUNGA! **


	31. Sozin's Comet - Project Meteoroid

**Hello everyone. I apologize for the long wait, but with finals, work, and the holidays, not to mention my other stories, I have had little free time to work on this update. So thank you so much for your patience, and happy belated New Year as I know you have all been looking forward to these next chapters very much, as I have been looking forward to working on them. S without further, delay, I present the first part to the explosive Sozin's Comet finale of "Worlds Collide"!**

 **Sozin's Comet – Project Meteoroid**

It was nighttime upon Zuko's beach-house on Ember Island, which served as a hideout for our heroes. Most of the group had been sleeping as a good night's rest, given all that they've experienced recently, would do them all a world of good. The only one who didn't appear to be sleeping was Master Splinter as he sat in his own room in a deep meditation; as he meditated he began to experience an intense vision. At the same time though, while young Aang also slept in his own room, he too began to experience the same vision.

Hamato Yoshi was standing in front of the Utrom Mortu and the High Council. "Master Hamato Yoshi, premier guardian of the Utroms, we honor you for your exemplary service."

"I swear that I will never fail to protect the good and noble Utroms." Yoshi bowed. "Even if it costs me my life."

The vision shifted to moment that would be Yoshi's death, as he lay beaten at the foot of the Shredder and his forces.

"He who lives without honor will end without honor!" Yoshi declared in defiance at the Shredder.

The Shredder raised his claws. "Bah! I will finish you myself!" He brought his claws down and killed the honorable warrior as he gave an evil laugh. "Now nothing will save the Utrom from my wrath!"

The vision once again shifted to Sozin's Comet as it was surrounded by flame and fell from orbit onto a grassy field, resulting in a cataclysmic explosion that turned the once grassy field into a barren wasteland as the world of the Four Nations began to burn away.

Yet another vision revealed itself; this one was of the Utrom home world as multiple explosions could be seen on the surface. A massive army of Foot-Mech machines with machine-guns, and even black-clad humanoids with pale white skin, bald heads, blank eyes, and Foot emblems were fighting a resitence of Utrom soldiers. The humanoids revealed themselves to be Benders as one line shot flames with palm thrusts; another group revealed themselves to be Waterbenders as they created multiple water-constructs along a line of Earthbenders who shifted the ground below them to their will, and even a line of Airbenders we're present as well creating a storm of tornadoes. With the combined efforts of these elemental-Foot-Soldiers, and Foot-Mechs; the Utrom Forces we're easily overwhelmed.

A massive image of the Shredder floated in space as he held the burning Utrom home world in his right hand, along with the burning Four Nations planet in his left hand. His evil and vile laugh would echo throughout the universe as he declared himself its new master.

The vision shifted once more; this one revealed both Aang and Master Splinter on a tall and snowy mountain. They both faced Hamato Yoshi, as he was clad in the uniform of the Guardians; all three bowed, and once Aang and Splinter stood up they found themselves also dressed in the garb of the Guardians, much to their surprise.

Though Aang could not give words to this, Master Splinter understood. "I understand" He bowed to Yoshi who smiled.

The vision ended as Splinter awoke from meditation, and Aang from his slumber in their respective rooms.

"I will not fail you my master, my father." Master Splinter declared.

However, while Splinter declared his own resolve, Aang had quite the opposite thoughts as he looked at his hands. "I'm not ready."

* * *

 _The Next Day_

The second Aang had woken up, after finishing his breakfast of course, Zuko had him working on his Firebending; as Zuko worked with Aang, Karai and Leo we're both observing closely while everyone else; Katara, Raph, Toph, Mikey, Don, Sokka, Suki, April, Casey, Mai, and Ty-Lee was lounging around on the stairs that led to the entrance of the beach-house.

Aang shot out more Fire-Fists as Zuko gave him his lesson. "More ferocious!" He exclaimed. "Imagine striking through you're opponent's heart!"

"Ugh! I'm trying!" Aang exclaimed in frustration to his teacher.

"He's being a little harsh right now, don't you think?" Leo asked Karai.

"He has to be." She replied. "We have much to do, and very little time to do it."

"Now let me hear you roar like a tiger-dillo!" Zuko exclaimed to Aang, who gave a very weak roar and shot out very little flame. "That sounded pathetic. I said roar!"

This time, Aang gave a loud roar as he shot out a massive tower of flame from his mouth, and both his hands. Momo scurried in fear and hid behind Zuko's leg who nodded in approval.

"Not bad Twinkle Toes, not bad." Raph commented.

"Yeah, you'd make a killer in the special-effects department in Hollywood." Mikey agreed.

Meanwhile, Katara and April each brought out an empty watermelon with cool beverages. "Is anyone thirsty?" April offered.

"Who wants a nice cool glass of watermelon juice?" Katara announced.

This got Aang's attention almost immediately. "Oh! Me! Me! Me!" He tried to run toward the refreshing drink, but Zuko caught him by the collar of his shirt.

"Hey, you're lesson's not over yet! Get back here!" Zuko held up a sulking Aang by his shirt.

Leo chose to walk up to the Firebender. "Zuko, you've been working Aang for a few hours, he could use a break."

"He's right Zuko." Don chimed in. "What harm can come from just five minutes of down time?"

"Down time." Mikey relaxed. "The best two words in the English language." He joked, resulting in Ty-Lee giggling.

Zuko looked towards Karai who gave a begrudging nod. "Fine." He let go of Aang who ran immediately to Katara and April for his drink. "If you all want to lounge around like a bunch of snail-sloths all day, then go ahead!" He began to walk away, along with Karai.

"What's his problem?" Casey asked.

"He's just like this, ignore him." Mai chimed in.

"Maybe Zuko's right though." Sokka said. "Sitting around the house has made us pretty lazy. But Mikey and I know just the thing to change all that!" He began to stand up with the Orange-clad Turtle.

"Yeah baby!" Mikey exclaimed. "BEACH PARTY!" He shouted.

* * *

 _Two Seconds Later_

"COWABUNGA!" Mikey shouted as he, Sokka, and Ty-Lee all dove into the water on the beach. Katara ran out toward the water, leaped into the air, and used her Waterbending to erect an ice-surf-board as she created her own waves.

While they we're in the water; everyone else, particularly Leo, Suki, Mai, Don, and Casey all laid on the ground, most of which we're trying to get a tan. Suki could see Sokka running from the water to a certain spot on the beach as he had an eager smile on his face, clearly having something planned.

Aang had just finished sticking a pair of large branches onto the head of a sand-replica of his beloved bison. "Check out my Appa-Sand-Sculpture."

The aforementioned Bison gave a roar of acknowledgment at his sand-duplicate as he began to walk away and was later joined by Raph and Toph.

"Not bad, Picasso." Raph joked.

"Yeah, yeah." Toph began as Aang jumped down to join them. "But I've been working on my Sandbending." She flexed her hands. "You guys are gonna love this!"

With a flex of her arms, she instantly created a perfect replica of the entire city of Ba-Sing-Se below her; this surprised Aang and Raph but for different reasons.

"Whoa." Aang breathed in amazement.

"You made a duplicate of Ba-Sing-Se? I thought you hated that place." Raph recalled.

"Eh." Toph shrugged. "Just wanted to wow you guys."

"Well you wowed me." Aang noted. "You even made a tiny Earth King and Bosco." He said, referring to a tiny sand replica of the Earth King and his bear.

Raph, Toph, Aang, and even Mai walked up toward Sokka who was working on his own project.

"Try and top that, pony-tail." Raph called out Sokka.

"I'd like to see that." Mai smirked. Sokka looked unimpressed as he presented his project.

"TA-DA!" He presented some sort of blob-like sculpture. There was a large patch of sea-weed that seemed to represent hair with a series of shells to represent a mouth and eyes and even a starfish to represent a nose.

"What the heck is that?" Mai questioned.

"Is that a… blubbering, blob monster?" Aang wondered.

"Looks more like something you see in some lame horror movie." Raph commented.

Sokka did not like their assumptions. "No! It's Suki!"

Aang's jaw dropped before he, Toph and Raph all burst out laughing, even Mai chuckled a bit. "Wow!" Raph exclaimed between laughs. "I mean just… wow!"

"Suki… we'll all understand if you break up with him over this." Toph commented in a snarky tone.

"I know I probably would at something that sappy." Mai added in an equally snarky tone.

Suki actually gave a sincere smile from where she sat. "I think its sweet." This resulted in Sokka rushing over to her in an embrace and giving her a large kiss on the cheek.

This seemed to confuse Aang. "But… it doesn't even look like…" Before anything else could be said, a large fire ball was shot out and it completely obliterated the entire sculpture.

"What the shell?!" Raph commented as he, Aang, and Mai saw Zuko running toward them and shooting multiple fireballs at Aang who made a run for it over Toph's Sand-Ba-Sing-Se, which too was obliterated in Zuko's onslaught.

"What the… Has you're boyfriend lost it?!" Raph exclaimed toward Mai as Zuko chased Aang.

"I have no idea!" Mai replied.

Aang ran closer to his Appa-sand-sculpture, but he saw a glint out of the corner of his eye, forcing him to limbo to avoid a horizontal slash from Karai's sword strike. He recovered from the limbo as he jumped high via his Airbending and behind his Appa-sand-sculpture.

"What are you guys doing!?" He questioned as he stuck his head out.

"I am sorry for this Aang, but this is a lesson that you need to learn!" Karai told him as Zuko shot a large fire-blast at the sand-sculpture, destroying that as well. Aang jumped away to avoid this, but Karai was already on him with one of her swords, but Aang used his Airbending to jump up onto the cliffside and run toward the house.

Karai used her own agility to jump to the top of the ledge as Zuko propelled himself up with Firebending and they continued to chase Aang back toward the house.

Everyone quickly ran toward the source of the commotion. "Hey, what the hell is going on?!" Casey questioned.

"Did Shredder find us?!" Leo questioned as well.

"No, but Zuko's gone crazy!" Sokka exclaimed as he tried to piece together what remained of his sand-sculpture. "I made a sand-sculpture of Suki and he just destroyed it!" This resulted in Mai smacking him upside the head.

"Really?!" She questioned. "That's what you're upset about?!"

"Oh, and he and Karai are attacking Aang." Sokka quickly added, resulting in the entire group running toward the house.

"Raph, what the shell is going on?" Leo asked his brother as they ran.

"You got me." Raph replied. "But if those two don't have an answer I like, someone's in for a world of pain!"

Zuko shot more and more fire-blasts toward Aang as he ran; the young Avatar jumped over one blast and onto a palm-tree, which he held onto the top for. Karai came to the base of the tree and used her katana to cut it down. As it fell, Aang quickly jumped from it and onto the roof of the beach house.

Karai came to the side of the house and ran up the wall to the roof as Zuko jumped on the railing and climbed onto the roof shortly after Karai made it. The two faced Aang as he was in a defensive stance.

"Get a grip before I blast you two off this roof!" He shouted to them.

"Go ahead and do it!" Zuko challenged as he shot another fire-fist, as well as two more blasts from several kicks; forcing Aang to slide down the roof to avoid them.

What no one seemed to notice was the commotion on the roof above disturbed a certain humanoid rat, deep in his meditation. His eyes shot open.

Aang slid off the edge and caught the edge of it so he could jump into an open window and into an empty room where he hid behind a dresser. A large fire-blast opened a hole in the roof as Zuko jumped down into the room, followed by Karai.

"We know you are here!" Karai called to Aang. "Do not run from your enemy, for they will always find you!"

Almost in direct response to that statement, Aang blew the dresser he was behind directly at Karai, who used her sword to slice it in half before it even hit her. Zuko spotted Aang and tried to shoot a fire-blast at him, but Aang was already outside the door and in the hallway.

Karai and Zuko followed him as Zuko tried to shoot more fire toward Aang, but before they could land a mark, Master Splinter suddenly appeared and spun his staff to diver the flame, surprising both Karai and Zuko, as well as Aang who forgot Splinter was meditating in the house.

"Enough of this!" Master Splinter stated as he rushed forward and delivered two palm strikes to both Karai and Zuko; the powerful strike sent them both flying back with enough force to send them flying through a wall and outside, where they landed on the unforgiving ground.

Aang breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks Master Splinter."

"Will you tell me what is going on?!" Splinter questioned Aang.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

Aang and Splinter both ran outside as they jumped toward the ground; right as Leo, Katara, Raph, Sokka, Don, Toph, Mikey, Suki, Casey, Mai, April, and Ty-Lee all arrived; most of them looked very displeased.

"What the shell is your guys problem?!" Raph exclaimed to Zuko and Karai as they tried to get up.

"Seriously, did you guys loose your minds or something?!" Mai questioned as well.

"You two could have hurt Aang, or worse!" Katara exclaimed.

"What exactly is wrong with you?!" Don questioned to.

"What's wrong with _us_?!" Zuko angrily exclaimed as he and Karai stood up. "What's wrong with all of you!? Have you forgotten Sozin's Comet is only three days away?!"

Karai was in complete agreement with Zuko. "How can any of you be sitting and having beach parties when we should be formulating a plan of attack!?"

This earned looks of confusion and vague guilty expressions from everyone else. "You guys… don't know?" Leo asked.

"Don't know what?" Zuko asked as they received more looks. "Why are you guys looking at us like we're crazy?"

"Yeah… funny story about Sozin's Comet…" Mikey chuckled guilty.

"See the thing is… I was going to wait to fight the Shredder until after it came." Aang revealed.

"AFTER?!" Karai and Zuko both shouted at the same time. Even Master Splinter turned around toward Aang with a surprised expression.

"What?" The rodent master questioned.

"I'm not ready." Aang stated. "I need more time to master Firebending."

"And frankly, you're Earthbending could use some work to." Toph pointed out, resulting in Aang looking down a bit.

Karai looked around. "You all knew of this?" She looked toward Ty-Lee and Mai, two of her closest friends. "Even you two?"

Mai grimaced a bit. "We thought you guys knew."

"Sorry." Ty-Lee rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

Splinter turned toward everyone else looking less than a little pleased. "How come I was not told of this?!"

"Sorry Master Splinter." April apologized. "But we all caught on and we thought you did to."

"Yeah, look at this kid." Casey walked up and placed a hand over Aang's head to emphasize his height. "Does this bean-pole shrimp look like he can take on Shredder?" Aang gave Casey a slight glare. "No offense." He said to Aang quickly.

"You guys we're there in Ba-Sing-Se, remember?" Sokka reminded Karai and Zuko. "Shredder completely tore Aang apart!" Aang himself grimaced at Sokka's reminder as he held his scar on his chest where Shredder stabbed him.

"But… what about the Sword of Tengu?" Zuko remembered. "Wasn't Aang supposed to use that?"

"Zuko, Aang has never held a sword in his life." Leo told him. "He barley knows how to use a regular sword. How's he supposed to use one that's augmented with both magic and Utrom technology?"

"Guys look." Katara began to tell Zuko and Karai. "That whole plan of 'fighting before the comet comes' was supposed to be used against the Fire Lord; to prevent the Fire Nation from winning the war. But obviously, things have changed drastically."

"Shredder and the Foot came into the equation." Don added. "They took over Ba-Sing-Se in less than a day, and used the invasion during the Day of Black Sun to take over the entire Fire Nation behind all our backs!"

"The Foot rules both the Earth Kingdom _and_ The Fire Nation." Mikey continued. "Not to mention the Water Tribes are almost down for the count to. Shredder's pretty much the king of the world right now. Things can't get any worse."

Zuko grimaced. "You're wrong." That got everyone's attention. "It's about to get worse than you can even imagine."

Leo looked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Ty-Lee, Mai, you recall when Zuko and I we're summoned to that war meeting the day before the eclipse?" Karai asked them.

"Yeah, we remember." Mai nodded.

"What about it?" Ty-Lee asked.

Zuko then began to tell the tale. "It was something I dreamed about for so many years. My father had finally accepted me back…"

* * *

 _Flashback_

Karai walked alongside Zuko to the Fire Lord's throne room, two servants were dressing the prince in formal armor as they came to the curtain. Zuko and Karai both looked toward each other before they entered.

In the throne room; we're the Fire Nation generals, admirals, and war ministers at the table; on the right side of the chamber next to the pillars was Hun and a holographic image of Stockman, no doubt broadcasting from Ba-Sing-Se; and on the left side of the chamber we're Oroku Saki and the Foot Elite. On the throne at the back of the chamber was Fire Lord Ozai himself, with Princess Azula at his left side.

"Welcome Prince Zuko, and you as well Karai. We waited for you." Ozai greeted.

Zuko and Karai made eye contact one more time before walking in separate directions. Karai walked over to her father and the Elite.

"It is not like you to be late, Karai." Oroku Saki told her.

"I apologize father." She said as she stood by his side.

Zuko made a brief glare toward Oroku Saki as he walked up to his father's right side. He made a respectful bow before he sat down.

Ozai then started the meeting. "General Shino, you're report."

"Thank you sir." The General stood up. "Thanks to the Foot; Ba-Sing-Se remains under our firm control. However, Earthbender rebellions have prevented us from achieving total victory in the Earth Kingdom."

"What is you're recommendation?" Ozai asked.

"Even with the aid of the Foot, our army is spread too thin." The General continued. "But once the eclipse is over and the invasion defeated, we should transfer more domestic forces into the Earth Kingdom."

"That is assuming you guys make it out of the Earth Kingdom." Hun pointed out.

"What is that supposed to mean?" A Fire Nation admiral questioned.

"You are forgetting the Turtles are leading this invasion." Hun reminded. "That alone should be enough to get you quaking in your boots."

"Oh please." One war minister dismissed. "They're just four overgrown reptiles. What can they possibly do?"

"Do not underestimate them." Oroku Saki told them. "I have made that mistake before, and it cost me dearly. While it is true there is only four of them, they pose a threat that is equal to that of the late Avatar."

Ozai spoke up. "While I acknowledge you're warning in regards to those Turtle-Creatures, Master Saki, let us return focus to the topic of this meeting." He turned to his son. "Prince Zuko, you've been among the Earth Kingdom commoners. Do you think adding more troops will stop these rebellions?"

Zuko looked down slightly as he spoke. "The people of the Earth Kingdom are proud and strong. They can endure anything as long as they have hope."

"Yes you're right." Ozai looked down before his eyes flashed an evil look. "We need to destroy their hope."

Karai slightly spoke up. "You're majesty… I do not think…" But she was interrupted by Azula.

"I think you should take their precious hope, and the rest of their land, and burn it all to the ground." The snarky princess stated.

"You may actually be onto something, Princess Azula." Oroku Saki began. "Sozin's Comet has the power to enhance a Firebender's ability, correct?"

"That is understatement, Master Saki." Ozai replied. "Sozin's Comet ahs the ability to endow us with the strength and power of a hundred suns. No Bender will stand a chance against us!"

"While it is true, that the Comet has that ability, I believe that the Foot may have found a more… _practical_ use for it." Oroku Saki told them with a sly smirk.

Azula seemed to take offense to that statement. "Is there something wrong with how we use our comet?"

"I mean no offense." Oroku Saki raised a hand. "Allow me to clarify; you used the Comet's enhancing abilities to wipe out the Air Nomads a century ago, but what I have planned for it will make that act seem like child's play."

"What exactly are you suggesting?" War Minister Qin asked. "You gonna destroy the world?" He asked in a joking tone.

"Nothing so crude." Oroku Saki replied. "Half. Two thirds at the most." Qin laughed slightly but stopped when he saw the look on Saki's face. "That was not a joke."

"What exactly are you talking about?" Ozai asked.

"Allow me to explain." The hologram of Stockman began. "Ever since we took occupation in Ba-Sing-Se, I began to construct a satellite network to gather data on Sozin's Comet. Upon finding that data, I began construction on this."

Another hologram appeared at the center of the war-table, this one was of the soon-to-be-completed rocket ship that Shredder would construct.

"Project Meteoroid." Stockman continued. "Once completed, this magnificent vessel will launch into the planet's orbit, close to Sozin's Comet. On it, I installed a gravity generator, which will launch a graviton-pulse that will be powerful enough to push the comet out of its orbit and sending it crashing onto the planet's surface, specifically the Earth Kingdom continent."

The hologram showed the rocket being launched toward the comet, a pulse generating from the rocket, which sent the comet plummeting toward the hologram of the earth where it crashed and obliterated the continent on that side of the planet.

Zuko and Karai could look in complete and total shock at this; all the war ministers, generals, and admirals had their own looks of surprise, even Azula did not expect this. However, Ozai simply smiled.

"Marvelous. Truly marvelous!" Ozai then began to walk onto the table.

Oroku Saki spoke next. "In my lifetime, I have witnessed many wars, and I have learned something from all of it. Whenever a nation or empire tries to take away the freedom of another nation, they resist. While it is true you are close to winning, the real reason you have not yet achieved total victory in the last century was because the Fire Nation has tried to take away the free will of this world gradually. However, with this act, not only will all resistance be destroyed in one swoop, but the survivors will give up their freedom willingly. With the destruction of their nation, any surviving man, woman, or child will happily follow a leader who offers food, shelter, and order."

"That… could work." One general spoke.

"It will work." Ozai said as he stood on the table. "While we may destroy one world, we will give birth to a new one! A world in which all the lands are Fire Nation, and I am the supreme leader of everything!"

Everyone began to clap at Ozai's declaration, even Oroku Saki who could only give a devious smile at how he just deceived the Fire Nation's leaders. The only ones not clapping we're Karai and Zuko, both looked towards each other from their respective spots as their own pupils shook, both evidentially horrified at this evil plan.

* * *

 _Reality_

"I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, both of us wanted to; but we didn't." Zuko said with shame as he sat down on a rock and Karai sat next to him having finished telling the tale. "My whole life I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance; but once I had it, I realized I lost myself getting there. I had forgotten who I was." Karai put a sympathetic hand on Zuko's shoulder.

Everyone else in the group looked in complete and total shock.

"No way…" Mikey breathed in horror.

"He's gonna… destroy the Earth Kingdom…?" Aang breathed as well.

"Not just the Earth Kingdom." Karai corrected, getting everyone's attention again.

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked.

"My father told Ozai that Project Meteoroid's purpose was to simply destroy the Earth Kingdom." Karai explained. "But… that was a deception simply to divert his attention away, allowing the Shredder to assume control of the Fire Nation from the shadows. His true plan is far more sinister."

This caused everyone to look in suspense. "He's talking about destroying the Earth Kingdom, what can possibly be worse that that?!" Sokka questioned.

"Uh Karai… how big exactly is Sozin's Comet?" Don asked.

Karai had a grim expression on her face as she looked at the purple-clad Turtle. "It has a diameter of roughly ten kilometers and it will impact the Earth at a rate of 32 kilometers per second."

That statement caused Don and April to gasp in audible horror, as everyone looked confused.

"Uh… can someone translate please?" Toph asked.

"That's about as big as the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs in our world!" April exclaimed; earning looks of horror from Leo, Raph, Mikey, Casey, and Master Splinter.

"And if that comet crashes at the rate Karai told us…" Don began. "It won't just obliterate the Earth Kingdom continent; the debris from the impact will create an ash cloud that will spread over the planet, blotting out the sun for months!" Aang, Toph, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Mai, and Ty-Lee each looked in their own faces of shock and horror as Don continued. "It will create abnormal weather anomalies such as heat-lightning storms, acid rain, and with the lack of sunlight; all vegetation and plant life will die out, followed by animal life, and eventually…

"The entire human race." Karai finished. "If Sozin's Comet crashes into the earth, it will mean the end of all life on the planet. That is the Shredder's plan that is Project Meteoroid."

It was silent for a second as everyone let the situation sink in. "Oh my god…" April covered her mouth in horror, as did Ty-Lee. Casey's eyes had widened in absolute terror, even Raph was stunned silent.

Katara sank on her knees. "I… I don't… I can't believe this…"

"I never… I didn't think even Shredder would…" Mikey stuttered.

"I knew he was bad but this… this is just pure evil." Sokka breathed as Suki tried to embrace him to find comfort. Mai at the same time looked toward Zuko who tried to give her what consolation he could from their eye contact.

"This is not good at all." Leo placed his hand on his face, while Master Splinter clenched his staff in anger at the thought of Shredder committing such a vile act.

"What… what am I gonna do…?" Aang asked, mostly to himself. Karai stood up and approached him.

"Aang, I can understand that you are scared, and you do not feel you are ready to save this world. But if the Shredder is not stopped before Sozin's Comet arrives, there won't be a world to save anymore."

Less than a second, a look of anger crossed Raph's face as he grabbed Karai by the collar. "WHY THE SHELL DIDN'T YOU TELL US ABOUT SHREDDER'S WHACKED UP PLAN BEFORE?!"

Zuko quickly broke Raph away from Karai. "We didn't think we had to! We thought we we're still going to fight him before the comet came! No one told us you decided to wait!"

"Okay, this group clearly needs to work on its communication skills." April tried to ease the tension.

Aang turned his back to the group as he fell to his knees and put his hands on his face. "This is bad. This is really, really bad!"

"There's one thing I don't get though." Mai said. "If he was just going to destroy the planet when the comet came, then why even take over the Fire Nation? What was the point of it?"

"The reason he usurped Ozai was so the Foot could gain accesses to all the Fire Nation's resources and materials needed to construct his vessel." Karai answered. "The Shredder does not care for politics or this century-long-war. To him, the entire Fire Nation itself was nothing more than a means to an end."

"He had to completely devastate the Fire Nation's economy, but he did it." Zuko added. "Project Meteoroid is complete, and all that's left is waiting for the comet."

"What does bucket-head get out of destroying the planet though?" Casey asked.

"Two reasons." Karai answered. "First, to wipe out all possible resistance. Second, he has all he needs. The vessel he constructed does more than just drive Sozin's Comet onto the planet's surface; it also serves as an arc, where all his Foot forces will wait out the weather anomalies that will kill off all remaining life. On his transport, Stockman will genetically breed an army of artificial Bending Super Soldiers."

"Wait… are you saying… Shredder can _make_ Benders?!" Toph questioned.

"That's impossible!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Yeah! No one can _make_ Bending!? That's like trying to make a piece of someone's soul!" Katara added, with the concept of 'making Benders' sounding like some form of sacrilege.

"That's not what Baxter Stockman believes." Karai informed. "He has found a way to genetically engineer Bending through studying a Bender's genetic material."

"Lets not forget, that Shredder was able to clone a new body for Hama." Don recalled.

"If what you're saying is true… then Shredder should be able to also genetically engineer an army of Waterbenders, Firebenders, Earthbenders…"

"Even Airbenders after studying recorded data on the Avatar. Perhaps even create new forms of Bending." Karai added.

"In addition, with the Nexus under his control…" Master Splinter assumed. "He can spread his army throughout countless worlds! He may even transport to the home world of the Utroms! Millions, perhaps even billons more will suffer at his hands!"

Aang heard all of this as he was still in his position of on his knees and hands on his face. "How… I just…. How can I stop…. I can't…"

"Aang." Katara eased as she slowly walked toward him. "You don't have to do this alone."

Leo joined her. "She's right Aang. Shredder's just us much our responsibility as he is yours."

"Yeah, we got your back kid." Raph agreed.

"If we all gang up on Shredder, we got a shot at taking him down!" Toph agreed as well.

"Alright! Sokka cheered. "Team Avatar-Turtle is back! Air! Water! Earth! Fire! Mutant Ninjas! Lady Ninjas! Fan, Sword, Knives, Acrobats!" He looked to Casey. "Whatever it is you are!"

"Classy." Casey replied sarcastically.

"Fighting the Shredder is no doubt gonna be the most difficult thing we've ever had to do." Aang said seriously before he smiled. "But I wouldn't wanna do it any other way."

Despite the grave situation, most of the groups smiled as they all came together in the form of a group-hug, even Ty-Lee, save for Zuko, Karai, and Mai. Mikey looked toward them.

"Come on, you guys to." The Orange-clad Turtle told them.

"Yeah, being part of the group also means being part of group-hugs." Katara agreed.

Zuko looked towards Mai nervously as well as Karai, both young women looking in mixtures of nervousness and embarrassment before they joined in. They heard a roar as everyone looked up in comic horror to see a familiar shadow over them.

"Incoming!" Don exclaimed as Appa landed on top of all of them and licked all their faces at once. Momo joined in for the same results.

* * *

After everyone went to get their supplies ready, Zuko had to give one final Firebending lesson to Aang with Katara watching them.

"There's a strong possibility we're gonna run into Azula, and there's one you need to know in order to deal with her." Zuko began. "How to redirect lightning."

Aang looked excited as Zuko began to demonstrate the form on how to redirect the deadly attack.

"If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You turn your opponent's energy against them." Zuko instructed as he demonstrated the form.

"That's like Waterbending!" Aang pointed out.

"Exactly." Zuko replied as Aang began to follow Zuko's movements. "My uncle invented this technique himself by studying Waterbenders."

"So… have you ever redirected lightning before?" Aang asked as they continued to go through the motions.

"Once." Zuko answered. "You saw me do it when we we're escaping the Western Air Temple, remember?"

"What did it feel like?" Aang asked.

Zuko stopped the movement as he spoke. "Exhilarating, but terrifying." Aang's smile vanished. "You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body, but you know if you make the wrong move… it's over."

Aang gave a nervous laugh. "Well… not _over_ over. I mean there's always Katara and a little Spirit-Water-action, am I right?" He looked over to her as she sat with Momo.

"Actually I… used it all up after Shredder stabbed you." Katara told him in a grim tone of voice.

"Oh…" Aang grimaced when he heard that.

"Of course, lighting will likley be the least of your worries." Zuko told him. "You know how Shredder fights, you can't afford to drag it out with him. You have to end his life quickly, before he ends yours."

Aang did not like the 'end his life' part Zuko just said. "Yeah… I'll just do that…"

* * *

 _Later that afternoon_

Leo, Aang, Splinter, Zuko, Mikey, Don, Katara, Raph, Toph, Sokka, Suki, Casey, Karai, Mai, Ty-Lee, and April all came together on a cliffside as Mikey had finished constructing a dummy at the edge of the cliff bearing a resemblance to the Shredder with a crude wooden helmet; though he drew a mustache on it just for fits and giggles. Aang had the Sword of Tengu with him as per Karai's request.

"Alright everyone listen up." Leo began to tell the group as all sixteen of them came together. "Knowing Shredder, he's likely going to be expecting us to show up to try and stop him. When he fights, he is focused solely on killing his opponent; but his intense focus can also be his biggest weakness."

Leo used a stick to draw a diagram for everyone to see. "If we hope to even stand a chance against Shredder we can't afford to drag it out. We have to end it quickly so our timing has to be perfect. We'll split into groups and come in from multiple directions. Don, April, Suki, and Sokka come in from the far right side; Raph, Katara, Karai, and Zuko go up front; Mikey, Ty-Lee, and Casey come in from left; Master Splinter, Mai and I will come in from the rear. With Shredder so focused on us, he will not notice Aang who comes in from directly above. Aang, you'll use the Sword of Tengu to take out Shredder in one shot! Not even he can survive that."

Everyone nodded in agreement, though Aang looked a little nervous.

"Hey, what about me?" Toph asked.

"Right now, you'll be acting as Shredder's forces." Leo told her.

"So I get to chuck a bunch of sharp rocks at all of you?" Toph excitedly asked.

"Whatever you have to do to make it seem realistic." Leo confirmed.

Toph smiled. "Sweetness."

* * *

 _Several Moments Later_

Toph stood in front of the Shredder-dummy as she gave her own 'evil laugh'. Everyone was in their respective spots; Don, Suki, April, and Sokka we're behind one set of rocks as Sokka bore his Water Tribe armor; Katara, Zuko, Raph, and Karai in their spot; Mikey, Ty-Lee, and Casey in their location, with Casey sporting his hockey mask; Master Splinter, Leo, and Mai in their spot; and finally Aang on the upper most ledge as he put on the metal glove needed to wield the Sword of Tengu.

Leo looked over the edge. "ATTACK!" He began the simulation. Everyone proceeded to charge forward.

Don led Sokka, Suki, and April down one path. Soon large rock-dummies shot out from the ground, bearing resemblance to that of Foot Ninja as they slid to the group. Don used his staff to slam down one rock-dummy; April took out her katana as she cut one down with a slice; Sokka performed a similar action with his own sword as Suki jumped up and delivered a powerful kick to knock the rock-dummy down she was facing as the group proceeded further.

Before they could get much further; a razor sharp, and rather large, rock blocked their path. Don used his staff to pole-vault over it while Suki and April ran around it, but Sokka almost smacked face-first into it.

"Watch it Toph!" Sokka yelled to her, given how close it came to hitting him.

"I am not Toph! I am the Shredder!" She acted as she gave another evil laugh.

"She's enjoying this way too much." Katara commented.

"That's our Toph." Raph said with pride as he, Katara, Karai, and Zuko ran further up their path. They scattered a bit to avoid more incoming rock-blades sent flying courtesy of Toph.

They we're quickly surrounded by almost a dozen rock soldiers. Raph drew his sai and Karai drew her katana blades as they along with Katara and Zuko used their respective weapons and elements to cut down all of the rock soldiers surrounding them before moving onward.

"Goongala!" Casey shouted as he took out his hockey stick to smack down more rock-foot-soldiers coming their way with Mikey and Ty-Lee behind him.

Multiple rock soldiers surrounded the pair as Ty-Lee jumped onto his shell with her hands to perform a handstand as she spun her legs like a helicopter blade as Mikey spun below with his nunchucks and they beat down all the rock soldiers.

"Wow. We make a great team!" Ty-Lee beamed to Mikey.

"I know we should do this more often!" Mikey agreed as they moved onward to avoid getting shredded by the sharp rocks heading in their direction.

Master Splinter led both Leo and Mai down their path toward the Shredder-Dummy from the rear; but as expected, more rock soldiers bared their way. Leo drew his katanas and easily cut them down to size; Mai jumped in the aid and threw her knives to impact the 'eyes' of the two soldiers in front of her. A large group surrounded Master Splinter as he quickly flashed a series of punches and kicks before the stone-soldiers crumbled to dust.

"Aang! Now!" Leo shouted to him.

The Avatar drew the Sword of Tengu with his gauntlet, which immediately lit up with its powerful energy. Aang jumped off the ledge, pulling the sword back, ready to strike down with all its power. He gave a serious and intense look toward the Shredder-Dummy, but as he got closer, his look faded into one of hesitance.

As he landed he shot out the sword and purposely missed as the energy wave soared past the dummy without even scratching it. He then stopped.

"What are you waiting for?! Take him out!" Zuko exclaimed.

"I can't." Aang replied.

"Stop the exercise!" Leo ordered as everyone stopped and Toph stopped firing rocks.

Raph angrily stomped toward Aang. "What is wrong with you!?" The Red-Clad Turtle exclaimed. "If this we're real; bucket-head here would not only have cut your head clean off, but he would have taken back the Sword and used it to wipe out the rest of us!"

"I'm sorry!" Aang exclaimed. "It just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself."

Raph raised an eyebrow as he took out one of his sais and immeditately stabbed the Dummy's head, causing Aang to wince.

"There! That's how you do it!"

As Aang looked at the decapitated dummy, a worried feeling filled his eyes. What he didn't notice was Master Splinter giving Aang a serious look from behind.

* * *

 _Later that night_

Everyone was back at the beach-house, eating supper. While everyone else was mostly eating and conversing together, Aang sat a distance away from the group. Leo walked up close to him.

"I don't have to read minds to guess what you're probably thinking."

"Leo, I don't know if I can do this." Aang spoke to Leo.

Leo gave a sigh. "Perhaps I should take the Sword."

Aang looked at his friend in surprise. "Leo?"

"You clearly don't want to use it. Maybe it would be better if I hold onto it, just for a better chance of keeping it out of Shredder's hands."

It didn't take Aang long to know that Leo was right. Aang really didn't want to use such a destructive weapon. "You're right." He grabbed the Sword of Tengu by the sheath and handed it to Leo. "Take it."

Leo put on the metal gauntlet as he took the sword and sheathed it with his other swords.

Katara walked onto the scene. "I have a surprise for everyone!" She announced.

"I knew it! You _did_ have a secret thing with Haru! Toph excitedly exclaimed; resulting in confused and surprised looks from everyone.

"Who is Haru?" Karai asked to Ty-Lee who shrugged.

"Uh… no." Katara said as everyone went back to his or her meals. "I was looking for cooking pots in the attic, and I found this!" She presented a picture of baby boy. "Look at Baby-Zuko. Isn't he cute!" She jokingly gushed, resulting in everyone happening.

"All he needs is little binky and a bed time story." Mikey joked as well. He saw Zuko with a grim expression. "Geeze, learn to take a joke dude."

"Yeah, I'm only teasing." Katara added.

"That's not me." Zuko said. "That's my father."

All humor in that moment died. "Oh…" Mikey uttered.

"Yeah you should probably burn that." Raph told Katara as she rolled up the paper.

"But…he looks so sweet and innocent." Suki said.

"Of course he does, all babies do." April replied.

"Well that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster." Zuko said in angry tone. "And the worst father in the history of fathers."

"Second worst, compared to my father." Karai added.

"Yeah, sorry Zuko I'm gonna have to agree with Karai on that." Mai said.

"You're Dad was bad, but Shredder is down-right evil!" Ty-Lee exclaimed. "Seriously, even talking about him just freaks me out!"

" _You're_ freaked?" Mikey began. "Try fighting him for as long as _we_ have! Just hearing his voice gives me the shivers!"

"That guy's like a freaking tank!" Casey stated. "He can take everything we throw at him and still walk away!"

"All that in mind, and its easy to forget he's just a tiny Utrom in a robot-shell." Don pointed out

"And I personally can't wait to shut his lights out permanently!" Raph punched his right fist into his left palm.

"But he's still a living creature." Aang finally spoke from his distant spot with Leo next to him.

"Are you seriously defending him?!" Mai questioned.

"No!" Aang said immediately as he stood up. "I completely agree. Ch'rell, Oroku Saki, Shredder, whatever name he goes by; he's pure unrelenting evil. And both our worlds would probably be way better off without him."

"You can forget probably." Leo said as he stood up with Aang.

"But there has to be another way than just killing him." Aang tried.

"That is _if_ we can kill him." Raph said.

"IF?!" Ty-Lee, Sokka, Suki, and Toph all exclaimed at the same time.

"Believe us we have tried pretty much everything to put him down!" Raph explained. "We dropped a water tower on top of him, Leo cut his head off, we left him in a building about to explode, even dropped him into a flaming ship that capsized, exploded, and sank into the freaking ocean; and he _still_ walked away!"

"At first I thought he was like some kind of Zombie!" Mikey exclaimed in fear as he tried to put on a zombie-like act. "Ooooh… I'm the undead Shredder… I'm gonna eat some Turtle brains!"

"The point is, we've tried almost everything and he still won't die." Don stated.

Master Splinter had sat in a meditative position the entire time and finally spoke. "Strong he may be, but I refuse to believe that he is invincible. I know there is a way to stop him."

Sokka looked toward a certain female ninja. "Karai, you we're raised by the guy. Any tips on how to kick his bucket?"

Karai could only look down. "I wish I knew. I may have been one of the few to know him as an Utrom, but he did not divulge any weakness to me."

Aang ironically saw this as a hopeful sign. "Well if we can't kill him, maybe we can do something that stops him without killing him!"

"Like what?" Zuko questioned.

The young Avatar tried to think of something. "He's just a small alien in a suit, right? Maybe Toph could Metalbend his suit away and expose him while I make pots of glue and use Gluebending to glue all his little tentacles together so he couldn't move."

Raph put on a sarcastic smile. "Hey yeah! And while you're at it you, you can show baby pictures of Karai so he can turn good!" While most people chuckled at his obvious joke, Aang was oblivious to his sarcasm.

"You really think that'll work?"

"I was being sarcastic you idiot!" Raph shouted at Aang, causing his smile to drop.

Aang began to pace in front of the group. "This goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like."

"You do know that he's planning on wiping out the entire world, right?" Casey reminded.

"Of course you can Aang, you're the Avatar." Sokka said in a lighthearted tone. "If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm sure the universe will forgive you."

"No one's gonna miss Shredder anyway." Mikey said in a similar tone. "You'd be doing the universe a favor."

Aang did not like the tone they we're using as he turned around with an angry look. "Mikey! Sokka! This isn't a joke! None of you understand the position I'm in!" He shouted; Mikey and Sokka both winced as everyone else, even Karai, looked surprised at Aang's outburst.

"Aang, we do understand it's just…" Katara tried.

"Just what, Katara?! What?!" Aang angrily questioned.

"We're trying to help you!" She exclaimed toward him.

"Then when any of you find a way for me to beat the Shredder without taking his life, I'd _love_ to hear it!" He exclaimed in anger as he stormed away.

"Aang! Don't walk away from this!" Katara tried to go after him, but Leo stopped her.

"Let him go Katara." The blue-clad Turtle told her. "He needs to figure this out on his own."

"Wow, has this kid always been this temperamental?" Mai asked.

"Yep." Raph and Toph both answered at the same time.

"Remember." Master Splinter began as everyone turned toward him. "We must see things from his position. He was born and raised among a society of pacifists and forced into a situation where he is not only the only remaining Air Nomad, but also a being that this world's responsibilities lie on his shoulders. However, I feel as though that he feels that those same responsibilities lie on _his_ shoulders alone."

"I do not blame him." Karai said as she looked in his direction. "With all his abilities, its easy to believe that he is a god. I only pray that belief does not go to his head."

Everyone looked in the direction Aang went off to and each had his or her own look of concern.

* * *

Aang sat alone on a patio meditating in front of a small plate of rocks and candles, facing the open ocean before him. His beloved lemur soon joined him. "Hey Momo." He patted his pet's head. "I don't suppose you know what I should do." Momo chirped. "I didn't think so." He resumed his meditation.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Aang had fallen asleep on the same patio. Everyone else in the house too had fallen asleep, save for Master Splinter who mediated once more up on the roof of the house, directly above where Aang was so that he could keep a eye on him and provide what help he could.

However, the rodent master sensed something as he meditated, it sounded as though he heard the sounds of chanting. His eyes opened and he saw an island that wasn't there before. He stroked his beard as he stared at it, but heard a faint noise down below him.

Splinter looked to see Aang, in a trance-like state, jump down from the patio and onto the ground as he walked straight toward the beach. Master Splinter said nothing as he jumped down and followed Aang alongside Momo.

Master Splinter knew this island was somehow attracting Aang; he doubted it had anything to do with the Shredder as he sensed no hostility but still followed out of concern for Aang. They both came toward the beach as Aang walked straight toward the ocean and swam toward the mysterious island. Splinter was about to join him but stopped and turned back in the direction to the beach house.

He gave a sigh. "My sons, I leave it to you." He followed Aang in the water and directly toward the island.

* * *

 _The Next Day_

Everyone was all set to leave as Leo, Zuko, Raph, Karai, Suki, Katara, Don, Mikey, Sokka, Casey, April, Ty-Lee, and Mai we're all loading their stuff onto Appa in the back courtyard of the beach house as Toph sat on the stone fountain.

"Is that everything?" April asked as they packed the last of their supplies.

"No its not." Toph said. "Where's Aang?"

Leo looked around as well. "Not just Aang, where's Master Splinter?"

The group shared concerned glances as they all ran inside the house to try and find their missing teammates. Appa took a break from his breakfast as he looked in concern as well.

"Aang? Aang!" Zuko called out.

"Sensei?" Raph called out as well.

"Come on guys! We need to go!" Mikey exclaimed hopping they would hear them, but there was no response.

The group split up into smaller groups as they searched the entire beach house. They each searched every room, every closet, Mikey even looked under a rug or two. No matter where they looked, they couldn't find anyone else in the house.

Leo walked onto the patio where Aang meditated the previous night and saw something familiar. "Aang left his staff?" Leo took Aang's glider as he and Katara walked onto the patio. "He never leaves this behind."

Karai walked onto the patio. "Neither Aang nor Splinter are in the house. Let us check the beach."

* * *

In less than a minute the large group was at the beach where they spotted two familiar sets of footprints.

"Look, there are Aang's footprints!" Sokka pointed out.

"The other must be Master Splinter's." Don deduced as they kneeled down to analyze them.

"They lead straight out into the ocean." Zuko noted.

"What? They went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Mai guessed.

"This is very weird." Ty-Lee said.

"Maybe they we're captured?" Katara guessed.

"I doubt it." Leo answered. "If the Foot we're here last night they would have come for all of us, not just Master Splinter and Aang."

"And it doesn't look like there's a sign of any struggle." Don observed from looking at the footprints.

"Didn't you guys say Splinter vanished on you one time?" Toph asked the Turtles.

"Yeah, but that was because we seriously hurt, and the Utroms took him to their base to heal him." Mikey responded.

"Maybe they ran away?" Casey guessed.

"Master Splinter doesn't _run away_." Leo replied. "Especially before something big like what Shredder's planning."

"Besides, Aang left behind both his glider and Appa." Sokka added.

"Then where you think they are, Sherlock?" Raph questioned in a groan toward Sokka.

"Its pretty obvious." Sokka said with confidence. "Aang disappears before an important battle, and Master Splinter himself is also quite spiritual; they're both definitely on a Spirit World journey."

Don face-palmed. "Sokka, Master Splinter can't go into the Spirit World, remember?"

"And even if he could, wouldn't his and Aang's bodies still be here?" Zuko added.

Sokka sulked. "Oh yeah, forgot about that."

"Then they must be somewhere on Ember Island." Karai said. "We'll split into groups and find them."

She and Zuko we're both suddenly pulled together by their arms by Toph. "I call dibs on Zuko and Karai!" Resulting in them both looking surprised. Everyone else looked at Toph weirdly, Mai gave a somewhat skeptical look towards Toph.

"What?" Toph questioned. "Everyone else got their life-changing field trip with these two, now it's _my_ turn."

"In that case, I'm going with Mikey!" Ty-Lee hugged his arm.

"I'm cool with that." Mikey responded with a grin.

"Fine. Let's go!" Leo ordered; thus the search began.

* * *

Sokka took the reigns on Appa as he, Casey, and April looked from the skies to get a birds-eye view of the entire island.

Leo, Don, and Raph ran across the rooftops on a town, keeping away from the public eye, as they jumped from roof-to-roof discretely and quietly but found no trace of either Aang or Master Splinter.

Ty-Lee and Mikey we're in another area of the town as well; Mikey stuck to the rooftops as Ty-Lee searched several buildings. She walked out one door and looked up to Mikey on a roof before she shrugged and they continued onward.

Katara, Mai, and Suki we're all in a more crowded area of the island's town as a large group of people gathered around an area chanting "Aang! Aang! Aang! Aang!" Over and over.

The three women young looked toward each other as they ran toward the crowd and pushed their way through to the center only to find it was the actress from the terrible play they recently watched pretending to be Aang.

"Avatar State! Yip-Yip!" She performed as the Actor-Toph lifted her up high; this resulted in Mai, Suki, and Katara looking comically angry.

* * *

"And then when I was nine, I ran away again." Toph continued to tell her story to Zuko and Karai as they searched a forested area around the town.

"Uh huh." Zuko nodded, as this conversation seemed one sided.

"I know I shouldn't complain." Toph continued. "My parents gave me everything I ever asked for, but they never gave me the one thing I really needed: their love. You know what I mean?"

Karai gave a brief sigh as she turned around. "Toph, I understand you had a difficult childhood and I am truly sorry for that; but we need to focus more on finding Aang and Splinter." She turend around and walked on.

"This is the worst field trip ever." Toph uttered as she blew her bangs, but Zuko put a hand on her head.

"We'll talk more about our 'bad parents' after we save the world, okay?" He told her with a sincere smile.

This earned a smile from Toph. "Thanks." She punched him in the arm as they continued to look.

* * *

 _A couple of hours later_

Everyone regrouped at the beach house as most of the group sat at the staircase toward the entrance, everyone had his or her own respective look of disappointment as they didn't find anything.

Sokka landed Appa as he, April, and Casey got off.

"Let me guess, no luck?" Casey guessed.

"What gave it away?" Mikey asked in a dull tone.

"We couldn't find anything from the sky." April said. "You sure you guys checked everywhere?"

"We looked under every rock, in every building, even asked some people." Don said. "We even double-checked and found nothing."

Raph groaned as he put his face to his palm. "Now what are we gonna do? This is absolutely the worse time to pull a vanishing act on us!"

"It's like they just… vanished off the face of the Earth." Zuko uttered.

"Hey wait a minute." Toph spoke up. "Has anyone noticed that Momo is missing to?"

"Oh no." Sokka uttered in horror.

"What?" Ty-Lee asked.

"I knew it was only a matter of time!" Sokka ran up to Appa and opened his mouth. "APPA ATE MOMO!"

"What?" Mai questioned in a groan. "Is he serious?"

"Sometimes even _I_ think he's stupid, and that's saying something." Mikey criticized.

"Momo! I'm coming for you buddy!" Sokka looked inside Appa's mouth.

Karai looked to Katara in confusion. "Is your brother always…"

"Yep." Katara rolled her eyes in confirmation.

"Ain't a bison a vegetarian? I'm pretty sure the big guy didn't eat that little monkey." Casey noted.

"Sokka; Momo's probably with Master Splinter and Aang." Don told him.

"That's just what Appa wants you to think." Sokka stubbornly said as he actually crawled inside Appa's mouth resulting in Zuko, Casey, Mikey, Raph, and Mai, even Suki in all face palming at Sokka's stupidity.

"Get out of Appa's mouth, Sokka." Leo told him. "Master Splinter and Aang are gone and Sozin's Comet is less than two days away!"

"So what do we do then?" Katara asked as Appa spat out Sokka, covered in the bison's saliva.

Leo ended up looking towards Karai and then Zuko; everyone else followed as well causing the two to look curiously.

"What? Why are you looking at us?" Zuko asked.

"Zuko, you are the expert at tracking the Avatar, you've been doing it for almost three years." Mai reminded.

"And Karai, you we're raised by Shredder who was even able to track _us_ multiple times." Raph added.

"If anyone can find Aang and Master Splinter, its you two." Toph added as well.

They both looked toward each other, Zuko put his hand to his chin. "I think I may have an idea."

"Well that's better than nothing." Casey uttered.

* * *

The sun was starting to set as the whole group mounted Appa with all their supplies, Leo carried the Sword of Tengu with his other blades as Zuko was at the reigns with Karai by his side.

"Hey Zuko, why exactly are we going to the Earth Kingdom?" Ty-Lee asked.

"Yeah, I mean I don't wanna tell you who to do you're job, but that's over an entire ocean away." Mikey told him. "There's now way Aang and Splinter will be there."

"Just trust me, okay?" Zuko told them as they flew onward.

"Whatever you're planning, we need to get it done quickly. We're running out of time." Leo noted as they saw the sun coming down.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se_

It would seem that the entire Fire Nation military was pouring into Ba-Sing-Se as multiple tanks and soldiers entered the city and filled up the entire Lower and Middle Rings of the city. The Upper Ring was filled entirely with Foot forces with nearly every single Foot Ninja and multiple Mech Suits patrolling the streets around the fortress that served as Foot Central Command; even the colossal Foot Carrier hovered over the fortress; the entire city was nearly an impenetrable citadel.

Inside the citadel, Oroku Saki was in his personal quarters with his Foot Elite, along with Hun, Stockman, Hama, and the Dark Turtles.

Dark Raph noticed how Hama bandages up her hands and was wearing her Foot uniform tightly to her body. "What's up with you, Ms. Bloodbender?"

"None of your business." Hama told the Dark Turtle clone as she held her arms, wanting no one to see what was underneath her bandages.

"We've run through all the diagnostics." Stockman said. "Starship systems are nominal."

"Everything has been loaded onto the ship." Dark Don also informed. "All the data from the Bender experimentation has been transferred; after the Comet crashes, and we wait out the storm, the systems on board will start automatically to grow you're army."

"Not to mention every single Foot Ninja and Fire Nation soldier in their military is in the city; so even if someone were to attack, it would be futile." Dark Leo stated.

"Congratulations Master Shredder." Hun told him with a bow. "These will be the last days of the Four Nations, everything is on schedule."

"Yeah! Time for the fireworks!" Dark Mikey laughed.

Oroku Saki seemed quite ecstatic as well. "After centuries, I shall finally return to the stars! The Utroms will travel to the Earth only to find that I am gone! They will never even think to travel to _this_ dimension to find me, even if they did, the hostile conditions of this planet will be far too deadly for even them! And once the cataclysmic storm has passed, and this primitive backwater rendered a barren wasteland, I will use the Nexus to transport my army of Foot Soldiers and Artificial Bending Super Soldiers to the home world of the Utroms! And with all of you by my side, we will slit each and every one of their throats!"

"Now that will be quite a show." Hun mused.

"We have fought by your side since the beginning Master." One of the Elite said as all four of them bowed. "We will serve you even on an alien world."

"Uh… what about me, Master Shredder?" Stockman asked as everyone looked toward him. "You said you would consider using your resources to grow me a new body, perhaps even one capable of bending?" He mused.

"Doctor Stockman." Oroku Saki began. "If your experiments prove to be beneficial then you will be so rewarded. However, if you fail me again, you're next punishment will be you're _final_ punishment!"

Stockman's holographic head gulped before the door opened and Azula came in and bowed to Oroku Saki.

"Sorry I'm late, Master Shredder." Azula apologized. "With all this added traffic in the city, getting anywhere is nearly impossible. So, everything is ready?"

"There has been a minor change in plans Azula." Oroku Saki said, surprising her.

"What?"

"I have decided to lead my newly grown army alone. You will remain here in this world." Oroku Saki told her.

"But… I thought… you and I would do this together?" Azula said, sounding a bit hurt by this change in plans.

"This decision is final."

Dark Raph choose to gloat. "Looks like someone drew the short end of the straw." He chuckled to the princess.

"But we're all going!" Dark Mikey gloated as well. "Guess who's being left behind." He gloated further, only to be smacked upside the head by Dark Leo. Hama meanwhile couldn't help but smirk at Azula's misfortune.

Azula was now getting angry. "You… you can't treat me like this!" She spoke to Oroku Saki as she stood up. "You can't treat me like how my father treated Zuko!"

"Watch your tone to the Master." Hun warned Azula but was ignored.

"You can't just throw me aside like trash!" Azula continued to exclaim. "I've helped you conquer Ba-Sing-Se! I've led the Fire Nation along side you! I've helped to hunt down those wretched Turtles! I deserve to be by your side!"

"Azula! Silence!" Oroku Saki ordered.

This seemed to visibly hurt the fire princess as she looked down with closed eyes as Hun, Dark Mikey, Dark Raph, and Hama smirked at Azula, whish she didn't seem to notice.

"My dear Azula, listen to me." Oroku Saki began. "My time in this world has been most beneficial to me. While I am gone, I cannot rebuild the new world, I will need someone strong and capable to help build this new dynasty of the Foot and lead it. At first, I thought Karai would be the one to lead it, but I have now become aware of the weakness that lies in her. After coming to this world, I found someone else; someone without any weakness or flaw whatsoever, someone who is more deserving to be my successor. That someone is you, Azula."

She looked up to him with hopeful eyes. "Really?"

"Indeed, my child." Oroku Saki cupped her chin. "And for all you have done, I shall declare you the Empress of the new world to be."

Her heart picked up. "Empress Azula?" She said, almost overwhelmed with joy but kept her posture. "It does seem appropriate, but what about you?"

"I have much, grander goals." Oroku Saki stated. "With the Nexus and all my resources at my disposal, one world seems insignificant now. Just as this world will be mine, so will _every_ world! Soon the entire multiverse will fear and respect the Foot as I will rule all! All will know and bow before… The Shredder!"

The Foot Elite we're the first to bow to their knees. "All Hail Lord Shredder!"

Hun followed next. "All Hail Lord Shredder!"

Azula to bowed on her knees. "All Hail Lord Shredder!"

"All Hail Lord Shredder!" Dark Leo, Dark Don, Hama and Dark Raph all bowed.

"Hail to the King Baby!" Dark Mikey bowed as he laughed once more.

Even Stockman begrudgingly bowed. "All Hail Lord Shredder!"

Oroku Saki smiled. Everything now falls into place.

* * *

 _Elsewhere_

Appa had set down near an old tavern as everyone got off. The Turtles bore hooded robes once again as Zuko led the large group straight to the tavern.

"Where are we?" Don asked.

"Looks like some kind of dive." Casey pointed out.

"Seems like my kind of place." Raph noted with a smirk as they saw the inside of the tavern with some people fighting and getting drunk.

"Figures." Mikey, Katara, April, and Suki said at the same time.

"Uh Zuko… why did you lead us here?" Leo asked the scared prince.

"June." Zuko pointed to an attractive woman dressed in black as she drank some tea; while at the same time, taking down some would-be-fighter with just her legs in less than a second.

"Who is she?" Karai asked.

"I remember her." Sokka pointed out. "That weird bounty hunter with the giant mole." He remembered as they saw June stand up and effortlessly avoid the punches of another drunken fighter trying to hit her.

"Mole? Her skin is flawless." Ty-Lee said

"No, she has this giant mole creature that she rides around on." Sokka corrected.

"The Shirshu." Zuko confirmed. "It's the only animal that can track Aang and Splinter's scents anywhere in the world; it's the one shot we have at finding them."

"Are you certain she will cooperate?" Karai asked.

"Well, given that the fate of the entire world rests on it, I'd say she'd have to." Leo said.

As June continued to avoid the punches of the so-called fighter, she threw her teacup into the air, and as it was airborne, she grabbed the man with both her hands and threw him over her shoulder to send him crashing into a crowded table. June caught her drink as it fell and drank it.

"She's good." Mikey observed.

"Not bad." Mai noted with a smirk.

"I don't know who this June-Lady is, but I like her." Toph said with a large grin.

"Think I maybe in love." Raph said with a smirk as well.

* * *

Aang laid on the ground as Momo climbed onto his face and licked it to wake him up. He groaned as he did. "Hey Momo, I just had the strangest dream…"

"It was no dream."

Aang turned to see Master Splinter sitting cross-legged on a log above Aang. "What are you talking about?" Aang asked but got a good look around and found himself on a very small island in the middle of the ocean.

"What?! Where are we?!" Aang questioned.

"You're guess is as good as mine." Splinter replied.

 **Done.**

 **Sorry again for the wait, I hope you like it.**

 **Shredder's Project Meteoroid is revealed. Meteoroid is a synonym for meteor, as he intends to crash Sozin's Comet onto the planet and destroy all life on it. Later he'll try to grow an army of artificial Bender Super Soldiers, which he will use to conquer the Utrom home world and beyond.**

 **Azula however is not aware of this, Shredder has successfully manipulated and deceived her into thinking she will be the ruler of the new world, unaware that there will be no world to rule. He's basically tossing her aside like garbage, as he has no more use for her. Hama is also covering herself up as she is experiencing some "difficulties" as well, which will be further emphasized in the next chapter.**

 **The heroes have found June with the intent on finding Aang and Splinter who are both on a so-called island in the middle of nowhere.**

 **Thank you for your patience, not a bad way to start the New Year, huh? I will be back with the next chapter soon.**


	32. Sozin's Comet - Old Friends

**Hi everyone. Thanks for waiting; anyway I'm sure you need no introduction. We now enter Part 2 of my Sozin's Comet finale. However, note that there will be some key differences in my story than in the cannon cartoon. Once again, thanks for your patience, so let us get started.**

 **Sozin's Comet – Old Friends**

Zuko, Leo, Raph, Katara, Don, Mikey, Sokka, Toph, Karai, Mai, Ty-Lee, Suki, April, and Casey had June in their eyesight as Sokka recalled a memory.

"Hey I remember her. She helped you attack us!" He said to Zuko.

"Yep." The Firebender confirmed. "Back in the good-old-days."

"And you say that her pet can track both Aang and Master Splinter's scent?" Don asked.

"Uh huh." Zuko nodded.

"You sure she's gonna be able to help us Zuko?" Leo asked as well.

"This may be our only chance, Leonardo." Karai answered for Zuko. "We have less than two days till the Comet arrives."

"Gee, no pressure or nothing." Mikey uttered as the group walked forward.

June spotted the large group approaching out of the corner of her eye, but it was the former Fire Prince that really caught her attention.

"Oh great, it's Prince Pouty." She groaned, resulting in Ty-Lee and April giggling slightly.

"Prince Pouty. That's a good one." Ty-Lee chuckled a bit as Mai smirked as well.

"Where's you're creepy grandpa?" June asked Zuko.

"He's my Uncle, and he's not here." Zuko answered.

"So what's with the large company, you guys got a party planned or something?" June questioned.

"You could say that." April replied.

June noticed how Katara was next to Zuko. "I see you worked out things with your girlfriend, Scarface."

That resulted in most of the group laughing while Katara and Zuko simply looked stunned, while Mai wasn't quite pleased. "Something I should know about?" She questioned to Zuko.

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"I'm not his girlfriend!" Katara exclaimed at the same time as Zuko

"Okay, okay! Geeze, I was only teasing." June eased.

Mikey slid a bit toward Katara. "Okay; Jet, Haru, Aang, now Zuko? How many boyfriends do you have?" Mikey teased.

"Not now Mikey." Katara groaned.

"What do you guys want?" June questioned.

"We require you're assistance in finding the Avatar." Karai requested.

June scoffed a bit. "Doesn't sound like fun."

That made Zuko a bit angry, but Raph beat him to it as he kicked June's table to pieces. "Does the freaking _apocalypse_ sound like more fun to you lady?!"

* * *

 _Outside_

Appa and the giant mole-like creature that belonged to June named Nyla both growled fiercely at each other as both large animals looked ready to pounce on the other. However, Appa gave a large lick on the Shir-Shu's face and they both pacified. Both animals looked to see June with Team Avatar, the hooded Turtles, and their allies all walk outside.

"Nyla." June called as she held a raw steak in her hands, which she threw toward her pet who ate it in one bite. June proceeded to pet her. "Who's my little, mmm, Snuffly-Wuffly."

"That is one messed up pet." Casey commented, Nyla then stuck out her elastic tongue toward him, which he was barley able to dodge. "Whoa!"

June calmed her pet down with a few pets as it growled toward Casey. "She doesn't like insults." She told Casey before getting to business. "Okay, so who's got something with the Avatar's scent on it?"

Katara climbed onto Appa to get that something. "I have Aang's staff." She climbed down and handed it to June.

June then held the staff in front of Nyla who began to sniff it. Nyla then began to sniff the air in order to find the matching scent. Don noticed the pet's movements. "To be able to track the scent of anyone all over the world… interesting."

Nyla began to circle around the whole group as she tried to find the scent; however, after a few more minutes of sniffing, Nyla fell on the ground. She gave a moaning sound as she rubbed her snout.

"Uh… what happens now?" Ty-Lee asked.

"Well, what does that mean?" Zuko questioned June.

"It means you're friend is gone." June answered as she pet Nyla's head.

"No duh. That's why we're looking for him." Raph commented with crossed arms.

"No I mean he's _gone_ , gone. He doesn't exist." June told everyone.

"What!?" Leo and Katara questioned at the same time as everyone bore his or her own look of confusion and surprise.

"Duh, duh, duh!" Mikey said dramatically, only to be smacked upside the head by both Raph and Mai.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the mysterious island, Aang and Splinter had been walking for some time with Momo hopping on the trees alongside them.

"Okay, so let me get this straight." Aang began. "I fell asleep, then you saw me wake up and just walk toward this island that appeared out of nowhere?"

"That is correct." Master Splinter confirmed.

"I don't remember waking up at all." The Avatar said. "I feel asleep at the house, now I'm here? Where are we exactly?"

"I do not know." Splinter replied. "The moment I came to the island, I feel asleep as well. I do not know how, I felt as though some mysterious force had made me slumber."

"Could it be we're in the Spirit World?" Aang suggested.

"If this we're the case, then would your pet be able to see us?" Splinter suggested as Momo hopped down onto a branch above them to look at them.

"Well no… but… he could be in the Spirit World with us." Aang suggested once more. He then shot his hands forward to shoot out an air-vortex. "Nope, my Bending works." Momo hopped onto Aang's shoulder.

Master Splinter pulled down on his beard. "Most peculiar. Perhaps we should get to higher ground." He pointed up the hill.

"Good idea."

* * *

"What do you mean Aang doesn't exist?!" Don questioned to June.

"Do you mean he's… you know… dead?" Sokka questioned as well.

"Nope." June replied as she pet Nyla's head. "We could find him if he we're dead. It's a real head-scratcher. See ya." She was about to hop onto Nyla and leave.

"Gee thanks." Mai said sarcastically.

"Yeah that was _real_ helpful." Toph sarcastically said as well.

"Hold on." Karai stopped June from leaving before turning to the Turtles. "Do any of you have anything belonging to Master Splinter? We may be able to track his scent."

"Sorry, no." Leo replied as he shook his head. "Anything we could have used he took with him."

"Well does anyone else have any ideas?" April asked.

"I think I may have one." Zuko said. "There's one other person in this world who can help us fight the Shredder." He turned back to June. "I'll be right back with a smell-sample."

A few seconds later, Zuko held up a small sandal that emitted an odor forcing everyone to back away in comic disgust. Katara, Leo, Raph, Mikey, Don, Suki, Mai, April, Ty-Lee, Casey, even Karai plugged their noses as the scent of the sandal with flies flying around it.

"You're kidding. You saved you're uncle's sweaty sandal?!" Raph questioned as he plugged his nose, despite the fact he and his brothers didn't have any nostrils.

"That is gross." Mikey stated. "Which says a lot from me considering I've lived in a sewer!"

"Well I think it's kind of sweet." Toph said with a smile, as she wasn't the only one plugging her nose.

Nyla immediately lunged a bit to the sandal and quickly got Iroh's scent. "Let's do this." June said as she pulled on the reigns, causing Nyla to run and follow the scent.

"Hey, wait up!" Leo called as everyone quickly boarded Appa. The Sky-Bison took to the air with his passengers as they began to follow the fast-moving mole-like creature.

Nyla ran on throughout the rest of the night and into the morning as Appa and all the on-board passengers continued follow June. There was virtually no conversation between the whole group as they continued onward; each one took turns with the reigns so the others could get some rest. Leo was at the reigns later in the afternoon as he looked toward the setting sun and over his shoulder at the Sword of Tengu that was sheathed with his own katanas. He had a serious look on his face as he contemplated on what their next move should be.

Night had now fallen as Nyla ran toward the Outer Wall that led to Earth Kingdom capital.

"Wait… we're going to Ba-Sing-Se?" Don questioned.

Raph groaned. "I hate this place."

"Who doesn't?" Toph added.

"You thought it was bad before, wait till you see what Shredder did to it." Mai commented.

"Why would Iroh be here of all places?" Katara wondered. "Isn't this where the Foot built their main headquarters here?" She asked Karai

"Yes. Foot Central Command was built on top of what remained of the Earth King's palace." Karai confirmed.

"Which means, we're practically at Shredder's doorstep." Leo said seriously.

Nyla stopped at a large hole in the wall, right in front of a large pile of rubble just as Appa landed on the ground. The giant mole began to scratch at the rubble anxiously.

"You're uncle is somewhere beyond the wall." June told Zuko. "Nyla's getting twitchy so he can't be too far. Good luck."

"You to. And thanks." April thanked her. June nodded as she snapped Nyla's reigns and took off.

Everyone set down off of Appa. "Okay, now what?" Casey asked.

"Right now we'll set up camp." Leo said. "We'll start looking for Iroh at sunrise."

* * *

 _Foot Central Command_

Hama sat in her room as she looked at herself in the mirror with only some minor clothing to cover her chest. Her eyes trembled as she got a good view of herself; her once beautiful body had become something else. Her skin was becoming more pale, sores and blisters we're growing all over her body and her right eye was bloodshot.

She looked at her reflection one more time before a look of anger formed on her face and she punched the mirror, shattering it. "What is happening to me?!" She questioned as she held her head, her hair being a huge mess as well.

Hama then fell on her knees as she coughed up some blood, which fell onto her hands as she covered her mouth. "Why is this happening to me?! Why am I falling apart!?"

The corrupted Waterbender looked up to the ceiling. "Why?! What did I do to deserve this!? When did this all happen!?" Where did it all go wrong?!"

The side effects of Hama's cloned-body being grown at an accelerated rate had not only a physical effect, but also a mental one as she recalled events in her life that led up to this point.

"Was it the Fire Nation?" Hama questioned as she recalled her tribe being attacked by Fire Nation soldiers. "Was it their war mongering? Or was it those despicable Turltes that foiled my plans for revenge?!" She remembered her fight with the Turtles underneath the Full Moon. "No… No… it was… Her!"

Katara's face flashed in her mind repeatedly. "It was that insolent and self-righteous Katara! She brought the Turtles to my hunting grounds! She stopped me on my path of revenge! It was her actions that led me to the Shredder and ending up in this degraded body! She did this to me!"

Hama's bloodshot eyes widened as it looked like Katara's reflection was in them. "Katara… You… YOU DID THIS TO ME!" She appeared to loose a great deal of her sanity as she bent whatever water she could find. "And I swear… YOU WILL PAY!" She froze the water and sent multiple ice-blades outward and shredded nearly everything in her room.

* * *

 _Mysterious Island_

Aang and Master Splinter, along with Momo, made it to the top of the island where they came to a small pit, within the pit was an usual symbol that neither seemed to recognize.

"Aang, what do you make of this?" Splinter asked in regards to the symbol.

"I don't know… I've never seen it before." Aang said as they both jumped down, with Splinter feeling the ground.

"Hmmm, this does not feel like normal ground. And I can… sense almost a faint energy from it." Master Splinter felt.

Aang began to think and took an Earthbending stance as he shot his fist up, but nothing happened. "It's not made of Earth! This is so strange!"

"Indeed." Splinter felt his beard. "Yet… I can't help but feel as though we are meant to be here."

"Meant to be where?!" Aang questioned as he sat down. "We don't even know where here is!" He felt his hands as Splinter sat down with him. "I really wish we had some help right now. I wish we had Roku." It dawned on Aang. "Hang on, I _do_ have Roku!"

"You do?" Master Splinter asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Roku was the Avatar before me. He was my past life." Aang explained. "I'm connected to all of them, maybe he might know something."

"Perhaps." Splinter then began to meditate. "I shall join you as well."

"You can do that?" Aang asked.

"As I said before, I can sense spiritual energy from this spot we are in. Perhaps I can use this energy to join you." Splinter explained this time.

"Well its worth a try." Aang agreed as he began to meditate as well. As both he and Splinter entered their trances. In-between the two, the blue specter of Avatar Roku manifested itself.

"You are right Aang." Roku began. "All the past Avatars, all their experiences and wisdom, is available to you. If you look deep inside you're self." Roku turned to Splinter. "And it seems we have company this time. You are Master Splinter, correct?"

"I am." Splinter confirmed. "It is an honor to meet you, Avatar Roku."

"It is _I_ who is honored, noble sensei." Roku greeted with a friendly smile. "Now, what is it that you two would ask of an old Avatar such as myself?"

"Where are we Roku? What is this place?" Aang asked.

"I.. Don't know Aang." Roku answered honestly.

Splinter began to stroke his beard once again. "This is much troublesome."

"It would appear so, however, I can sense that you Aang are lost in more ways than one right now." Roku observed from Aang.

"I am." Aang confirmed. "I need to figure out what to do when I face the Shredder."

* * *

 _Outside Ba-Sing-Se_

The group had already fallen asleep; most had we're sleeping on the slumbering Appa. Zuko held Mai close as they slept on one of Appa's right legs with Karai and Ty-Lee close by, as well as Leo and Mikey. Katara, Raph, and Don slept on Appa's left legs, along with April and Casey who we're close to each other as well. Sokka and Suki slept on Appa's tail. The only one not on Appa was Toph as she slept on the ground in her own rock-tent.

Toph snored a bit before her Seismic Sense picked up something, waking her up. She broke down her rock-tent. "Everyone! Wake up!"

Right as the whole group was startled into awakening, a large ring of fire formed around all of them; Appa roared in discomfort, not being too comfortable around the flames.

The group each drew there weapons and took bending stances respectively as they circled up. "What's going on!? Are we under attack!?" Katara questioned.

"Did the Foot find us?!" Raph questioned as well.

"I knew coming here was a bad idea." Sokka stated.

"Everyone be ready for anything." Leo told the group as they all stood ready.

They all looked around to try and get a sight on their supposed enemy, but Zuko spotted something out of the corner of his eye. "Uh guys…" He pointed upward and everyone saw five individuals standing on the large pile of rubble of the massive wall.

One of them was a dark-skinned man with sunglasses, blue hair tied back, with a dark blue suit and grey trenchcoat, as well as a golden medal with the symbol of the Utrom on it; he was the leader of the Guardians. Along side him we're other familiar faces; the sword-master Piando, the exile of the Fire Nation Jeong-Jeong, the Waterbending master of the Northern Tribe Pakku, and even the king of Omashu Bumi, all wearing blue and white robes.

"Well, look who's here." Bumi stated as he gave a laugh.

While most of the group looked a bit confused and surprised; Leo, Katara, Sokka, Raph, Don, and Mikey we're among the first of the group to smile with mixtures of relief and joy.

* * *

 _Mysterious Island_

Nighttime had fallen on the island as Splinter and Aang we're still in their meditative stances, speaking with the spectral image of Avatar Roku.

"Everyone expects me to take the Shredder's life." Aang began. "I know he's nothing short of pure evil, and there is very little possibility he'll try to redeem himself. But… I just don't know if I can do it."

Splinter only listened as Roku responded to Aang's statement. "In my life, I tried to be disciplined and show restraint. But it backfired, when Fire Lord Sozin took advantage of my restraint and mercy. If I had been more decisive, and acted sooner, I could have stopped Sozin, and stopped the war before it started. I offer you this wisdom Aang: you must be decisive."

Roku's spirit vanished, leaving Aang looking disappointed as he silently looked toward Splinter for any advice.

"Roku does make a validated argument." Splinter began. "While it is admirable to show mercy, there will always be those who take advantage of you're mercy. I speak from experience when I say that the Shredder will take advantage of any mercy shown him, while he has none to give."

This did not improve Aang's dilemma one bit.

* * *

"Okay what the shell is going on?" Raph questioned.

"Yeah, we're surrounded by a bunch of old dudes." Casey noted as the group of youngsters faced the smaller group of older individuals.

"These aren't just any old people." Katara said. "These are great masters and friends of ours." She walked toward the elder Waterbender who was her teacher and made a respectful bow. "Pakku."

Mikey walked toward him as well. "Aren't you that sexist old guy from the North Pole?" Katara elbowed Mikey once he said that. "Ow!"

Pakku simply smiled as he returned the bow to Katara "It's alright, I deserved that. And it is respectful to bow an old master; but how about a hug, for you're new Grandfather?"

That took Katara and Sokka by surprise, even Mikey. "Saywha?" Mikey questioned.

Katara had a look of elation on her face. "That's so exciting!" She exclaimed as she ran and embraced Pakku, while Sokka gave an almost-girly shriek. "You and Gran-Gran must be so happy to have found each other again!"

"I made her a new betrothal necklace and everything." Pakku said before Sokka pulled him into an un-welcoming hug.

"Welcome to the family Gramp-Gramp!"

"You can still just call me Pakku." He said as he lightly pushed Sokka off him.

"How about… Gran-Pakku!" Sokka tried.

Pakku had a deadpanned expression on his face. "No."

Katara introduced to Zuko the next person. "Zuko, this was Aang's first Firebending teacher."

"Jeong-Jeong" The exile introduced as he made a respectful bow, which Zuko returned. Raph walked up to him.

"I heard about you." The red-clad Turtle smirked. "Major pointers for sticking to those Fire-chumps." Jeong-Jeong gave an amused smile at Raph's comment.

Sokka walked over to his mentor, alongside Don. "Master Piando." Sokka bowed.

"Hello Sokka." Piando greeted with his own bow.

"It's good to see you again, Piando." Don offered his hand, which Piando shook.

"Likewise, Donatello."

Bumi eyed a certain dark-haired girl from the Fire Nation. "Hey, I know you." He slid uncomfortably close to her. "Aren't you that girl who's father was in control of my city."

"Uh…Yes?" Mai said uncomfortably

Ty-Lee quickly walked over to Bumi. "Look, Mr. Bumi sir, we're sorry. We we're on the wrong side, but now we're trying to…"

Before she could finish, Bumi suddenly pulled her and Mai into one large bear hug, lifting the two off their feet despite his age as he laughed. "It's okay! You're on the good-guy side now!" He continued to laugh as Ty-Lee and Mai just looked confusedly toward each other.

Leo walked over to the leader of the Guardians. "Leonardo, my comrade, it is good to see you again." The Guardian said as both he and Leo bowed toward each other.

"It's good to see you to." Leo turned to everyone else. "Guys, this the leader of the Guardians, and the first one I met shortly after our first confrontation with the Shredder."

Team Avatar looked in joyous surprise, while Karai looked a bit nervous. "No way… You're one of those cool Guardian guys?!" Toph questioned excitedly.

"This is so awesome!" Sokka practically screamed. "More good guy ninjas on our side!"

"If you are guys are here, does this mean the Utroms are here as well?" Katara asked in an excited tone, as she was actually looking forward to meet the friendly aliens.

"No, not at the moment." The Guardian began to explain. "We returned to the Earth with the intent of aiding you Turtles in defeating the Shredder, however we soon discovered that you, he, and most of the Foot had vanished. The Utroms sent us ahead through the Nexus into this world, by the time we came here, it would seem the Shredder's hold on this world has already been cemented."

"Not for long." Zuko said. "We know what Shredder's planning.

"He's going to crash Sozin's Comet onto the planet's surface and destroy all life on it!" Suki said, shocking every one of the elder masters as well as the Guardians.

"Surely, someone cannot be so destructive as to destroy all trace of life on this world." Jeong-Jeong said.

"He won't stop there though." April said. "We found out that he plans to use the Nexus to go to the Utrom home world."

"He's already planning on growing an army of super-human Benders which he plans to use to destroy the Utroms and take over the universe!" Leo revealed.

The Guardian and elder masters looked toward each other. "Than our situation is more grave than we thought." Piando said.

"How did you find out about all this?" Pakku asked.

"We got some inside information." Casey answered as he gestured toward Karai.

The Guardian looked with a glare toward Karai, as all the Guardians remember her from her time in the Shredder's surface. Zuko stepped in front of Karai.

"Look." The former Fire Prince began. "Yes, Karai was one of the Foot's top members, and Shredder's adoptive daughter, but now she's with us. She's risked her life to help all of us and…"

Karai placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder and looked toward him. While she was grateful he stood up for her, she needed to speak herself as she walked up toward the Guardian.

"Guardian, I know my past crimes in the Foot cannot be undone; but I swear on my life, that I now seek to end the tyranny of the Shredder." She bowed to the Guardian. "I understand if you cannot forgive me, but know that I am telling the truth."

The Guardian looked for a moment as Karai stood up. "I believe you." He said.

This caused Karai, as well as everyone else, to look relieved. Katara walked up toward the former Foot kunoichi. "Even if he didn't, I still believe in you." Katara assured, causing Karai to smile.

"Okay… so how do you guys all know each other?" Raph asked the group of elder masters.

"All old people know each other, don't you know that?" Bumi asked rhetorically as he laughed again.

"We're all part of the same secret society." Piando explained. "A group that transcends the division of the Four Nations."

It dawned to Zuko. "The Order of the White Lotus!"

"That's the one!" Bumi pointed out.

"The White Lotus has always been about philosophy, and beauty, and truth." Jeong-Jeong said. "But about a month ago, a call went out that we we're needed for something important. It was not too long after that we met with the Guardians of the Utroms. Both the White Lotus and the Guardians have now joined forces in order to stave off the threat of the Shredder."

Pakku looked toward Zuko. "The call came from a Grand-Lotus, you're Uncle, Iroh of the Fire Nation."

"No way!" Mikey exclaimed. "That's totally who we're looking for!"

"Then we will take you to him." The Guardian said before he and Pakku we're pushed aside by Bumi as he looked around.

"Wait… someone's missing from your group. Someone very important…" Bumi closed right into Don's face. "Where's Momo?!"

Don looked a bit surprised at that question, and the fact Bumi's face was less than an inch from his own. "He's gone. So are Aang and Master Splinter."

Bumi backed off. "Oh well. So long as they have each other, I'm sure we have nothing to worry about. Let's go!" He shot himself up into the air with a rock-pillar underneath him as he laughed over the wall.

"Well you all heard the crazy old guy, lets get going." Casey said as they all began to follow him.

* * *

 _Mysterious Island_

Momo continued to hop around the trees as Aang and Master Splinter continued to meditate with Aang calling another one of his predecessors. "Avatar Kyoshi, I need you're wisdom."

The blue spectral image appeared between Splinter and Aang as she spoke. "In my day, Chin the Conqueror threatened to throw the world out of balance. I stopped him, and the world entered a great era of peace."

"But you didn't really kill Chin." Aang said. "Technically he fell to his own doom because he was too stubborn to get out of the way."

"Personally I don't really see the difference." Kyoshi replied. "But I assure you, I would have done whatever it took to stop Chin. I offer you this wisdom Aang: only justice will bring peace."

Her spirit faded as Master Splinter spoke to Aang. "In my opinion, I believe she is correct. If I we're in her place, I would have likely done the exact same thing."

Aang sighed. "Yeah… I figured you probably would."

* * *

The Order of the White Lotus and the Guardian led the Turtles, Team Avatar, Appa, and their friends down a rocky landscape toward their own secret base of operations.

As they walked, Piando noticed the sword Leo was carrying. "Ah, I see you have the Sword of Tengu."

Leo looked a bit confused. "How do you know about the sword?"

"I would know, because I rebuilt it." Piando answered.

The entire group did not see that coming, especially Sokka. "YOU REBUILT THE SWORD OF TENGU!?" Sokka and Mikey both shouted at the same time.

Karai also looked stunned. "I was not aware you we're the one who rebuilt it."

"I am." Piando nodded. "I have to say, I have never seen a blade like it all my life."

"Why would you help Shredder rebuild his most dangerous weapon?" Raph questioned.

"I didn't do it for him." Piando answered. "I built it because I had faith it would fall into the right hands and not his." He smiled. "And it would seem that I was right."

Leo looked toward the sword that he had sheathed and he gave a nod toward Piando, indicating that he made the right call.

"Hey, there's one thing I don't get." Sokka said. "The Order of the White Lotus knows about the Utroms?"

Don was in agreement. "Yeah; I get you guys are both secret societies and all, but both are you are from completely different worlds. Scientifically speaking, it would be impossible for you to interact."

"Not entirely." The Guardian spoke. "You should know by now that our worlds, and other worlds are connected together by a certain force."

"The Nexus." Karai stated.

"The what?" Mai asked.

"Think of the Nexus as like an energy tunnel that connects this world to our world and other worlds all across the multiverse." April explained. "How do you think we got to your world?"

"Wow, that sounds amazing!" Ty-Lee beamed.

"So you guys have all met before?" Katara asked.

"We have." Pakku answered as he looked back toward four certain mutants. "Surely you Turtles are familiar with the Battle Nexus tournament."

That caught all the Turtles by surprise as they suddenly stopped in their tracks. "No way…" Leo breathed. "You all participated in the Battle Nexus?!"

"You bet you're shell we did!" Bumi laughed.

"The Battle Nexus?" Suki questioned.

"It's a tournament where fighters from multiple worlds meet to fight." Raph explained. "And all you old guys we're in it?"

"Indeed we we're." Jeong-Jeong answered. " We even met the one who organized it all, the Daimyo himself. As for how we know the Guardians, we we're once friends with their most loyal member, Hamato Yoshi."

This time the whole group was completely surprised. "You knew Yoshi!?" Leo, Katara, Raph, Don, Sokka, Toph, Mikey, even Zuko all exclaimed at the same time.

"Yes. He was a good man." Pakku said. "An honorable warrior, we even named him an honorary member of the White Lotus."

"Wow. Small multiverse." Don spoke.

"Was my Uncle in this tournament?" Zuko asked.

"Yep, he even won it once." Bumi answered.

Mikey immediately came up to Zuko. "Dude! You're Uncle won the freaking Battle Nexus?! That is so awesome!"

"I hear ya!" Raph was in agreement as he gave Zuko a friendly noogie. "You got the coolest Uncle ever, Scarface!"

Zuko gave a slight laugh as he pushed Raph off. Mai walked a bit closer toward Bumi. "So… one question. How are you here? Last time I checked, you we're still locked up in Omashu. How did you escape?"

"Escape?" Bumi questioned. "I didn't escape. _Everybody else_ escaped."

"Huh?" Ty-Lee asked, getting a little interested as Bumi began to tell the story.

"There I was, back in Omashu, waiting for just the right moment. I didn't know what or when, but I'd know it when I knew it."

"Let me guess, you did it during the eclipse?" Mai drawled amusingly, resulting in Bumi giving a maniacal cackle.

* * *

 _Flashback_

Bumi continued to hang from his metal-coffin-like prison within the Fire-Nation-Occupied Omashu, renamed New Ozai. All of his citizens and soldiers had previously escaped when Team Avatar faked an epidemic to get the city evacuated. He looked up in the sky to see the moon blocking the sun.

"An Eclipse! That'll do it."

Using his own will, Bumi Earthbent multiple tiles from some nearby rooftops and brought them into the coffin, where they broke into the metal seal, causing the door to break off. Bumi jumped down and landed on the ground just as a row of Fire Nation soldiers lined up to stop him.

"What do you think you're doing?!" One soldier questioned as he shot his fist out for a fire-blast but nothing happened, much to his shock, as well as that of his fellow soldiers. He shot another fist out, only to not even produce an ember.

Bumi had a mischievous smile. "Taking back my city!" He answered the soldier's question. "You got no fire-power, and it's payback time!"

He shot forward on an earth-wave, the soldier quickly moved out of the way as he jumped off the ledge of the building he was on and onto the city ground. He shot both his hands up to shoot up a massive column of earth near a Fire-Nation-built factory before he pushed it off and down the slope, tumbling down the mountain the city was built onto. Bumi repeated this action with two more factories before he made a few more fists to shoot out three more factories.

Thankfully the city had been evacuated early on, so no civilian was injured when Bumi destroyed every single Fire Nation factory within his city. Pretty much every Fire Nation soldier at this point was running for his life as they had no way of stopping the Earthbending king.

Bumi looked straight up at the very top of the city and saw the massive statue of Ozai. That needed to go. As eight soldiers came running up behind him with spears, he shot up eight earth-pillars underneath them to send them flying before he shot the pillars directly at the statue. Two shot into Ozai's eyes, two up his nose, and the remaining four into his mouth for a crude smile.

The crazy king then used all his strength to shift and move the earth under the massive statue, causing it to tip over. It wasn't long before the whole thing went timber and began to slid down the slope of the mountain-city and down the chasm, destroying the bride that led into the city in the process. With that, Bumi had reclaimed Omashu.

The mad genius gave a laugh at his victory before quickly biting into a piece of rock candy.

 _End flashback_

* * *

Everyone had heard that story and each had his or her own impressed smile.

"Wow. You took back you're city all by yourself!" Ty-Lee exclaimed in joy.

"Yep. Hope you don't mind." Bumi said to Mai.

"Not at all." She said with a grin. "I hated that place anyway."

"Wow, you are so cool dude!" Mikey exclaimed to Bumi.

"Yep, you are one bad-ass old guy!" Casey congratulated.

"Yes, most impressive." Karai nodded.

Raph gave a nudge to his friend. "Watch out Toph, looks like you got competition." He teased, resulting in Toph giving a friendly punch in the red-clad Turtle's arm.

"So what about you guys?" Bumi asked the group of youngsters. "Did you do anything interesting on the Day of the Eclipse?"

Leo and Zuko both gave glances toward each other.

"Nah." Zuko said.

"No, not really." Leo said as well.

* * *

 _Mysterious Island_

Aang still was looking for an alternative that his predecessors have yet to give him. "Aang." Master Splinter told him. "I cannot speak for you're past lives, however, I have a suspicion that may all tell you the same thing you have been told."

The young Avatar wouldn't have it. "I need to look deep inside myself." He said as he resumed meditation. Splinter sighed as he too joined him in meditation. In between them manifested another blue spectral image of another Avatar, this one was a man dressed in the garb of the Water Tribe.

"I am Avatar Kuruk." He began. "When I was young, I was always a 'go-with-the-flow' kind of Avatar. People seemed to work out their own problems, and there was peace and good times in the world. But then, I lost the woman I loved to Koh, the Face Steeler. It was my fault, if I had been more attentive and more active, I could have saved her."

Aang and Splinter both looked in sympathy toward Kuruk as they could both understand that kind of pain in loosing someone they loved, whom they felt they could have saved.

"Aang." Kuruk continued. "You must actively shape your own destiny, and the destiny of the world." Kuruk vanished.

The young Air Nomad sighed. "I guess you we're right, again." He said to Splinter.

"Aang, I know that you will likely search again." Splinter began. "I cannot stop you, but if it would help, perhaps speak with an Avatar who shares the same background as you."

This caused Aang to look a bit elated. "You're right, maybe an Air-Nomad Avatar will understand where I'm coming from. I mean, it's worth a try, right?"

Splinter nodded as they both entered meditation again, and just like before, another blue spectra image appeared before them, this was a woman dressed in the garb of an Air Nomad.

"I am Avatar Yangchen, young Airbender"

"Avatar Yangchen, the monks always taught me that all life is sacred. Even the tiniest spider-fly caught in it's own web." Aang remembered.

"Yes, all life is sacred." Yangchen replied.

Aang had a hopeful smile on his face. "I know, I'm even a vegetarian! I've always tried to solve my problems by being quick or clever, and I've only had to use violence for necessary defense, and I've certainly never used it to take a life."

"Avatar Aang, I know that you are a gentle spirit, and the monks have taught you well." Yangchen acknowledged. "But this isn't about you, this is about the world."

Splinter inwardly sighed, as he knew where this was going, as did Aang. "But the monks taught me I had to dethatch myself from the world so my spirit could be free."

"Many great and wise Air Nomads have dethatched themselves, and achieved spiritual enlightenment." Yangchen said. "But the Avatar can never do it, because your sole duty is _to_ the world. Here is my wisdom for you: selfless duty calls upon you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs, and do whatever it takes to protect the world."

Yangchen's spirit faded, and with it, so did Aang's hopes. He gave a deep sigh as he hung his head, while Splinter looked toward him with deep concern.

* * *

 _Outskirts of Ba-Sing-Se_

The Guardian and White Lotus members had led the group of young heroes, along with Appa, to a secluded campsite. Bumi used Earthbending to create an opening in a large ring of stone that kept the campsite hidden, and everyone walked in.

"Well, here we are." Bumi presented to the group. "Welcome to Old-People Camp." He showed them the campsite filled with over a hundred tents where one could see a few members of the White Lotus and other Guardians out on guard duty while others slept. However, there we're other familiar faces as well that didn't belong to either group, one of which caught the attention of Katara and Sokka.

"Dad?" Sokka breathed in disbelief.

"Dad!" Katara shouted in joy as they went running toward him.

Sure enough, Hakoda, as well as Bato, Usagi, Pipsqueak, the Duke, Haru, Teo, Gen, Traximus, the Fugitoid, even Leatherhead we're all present as the group turned to see Katara, Leo, Sokka, Raph, Don, Toph, Mikey, Suki, April, and Casey all run up to them.

Katara and Sokka wasted no time in hugging their father, who hugged them back. "Its good to see you two." Hakoda told them as Bato walked over to join them.

"I can't believe it, how are you guys here?" Katara happily questioned as she felt tears of joy from her eyes.

"Shortly after leaving the Western Air Temple, we met up with the White Lotus, as well as these other guys, the Guardians, and we decided to do what we could to help them." Hakoda answered.

"One of the first steps was breaking out virtually everyone who was part of the old Invasion Force" Bato added.

Leo greetingly bowed to Usagi and Gen as they both bowed to him in return. "Usagi, Gen, its good to see you guys again."

"Likewise, my friend." Usagi responded with a smile.

"Yeah, you didn't think we'd be out of the game forever, did you?" Gen joked.

Raph walked up to the Triceraton gladiator. "Good to see you again, horn head." Raph greeted.

"I know, it is good to see me." Traximus joked. "If I can handle being a gladiator on the Triceraton homeworld, I can handle whatever tricks these Fire Nation fools can throw at me."

"Speaking of which…" Raph reached behind and pulled out the axe Traximus gave him before handing it back. "I think this is yours, Traximus."

Traximus took the axe back. "Thank you Raphael. Even for a short time, it was in good hands."

"Professor, glad to see you're still in one piece." Don said as he and April came up to Professor Honeycutt.

"Yes, we didn't have much to worry about in the Fire Nation prison in the short time we we're all there. The Utrom's Guardians made sure of that." Honeycutt replied.

"So everyone from the Invasion is here, Professor?" April asked.

"Yes, everyone." The Fugitoid confirmed. He even looked toward Suki. "Ms. Suki, we've even taken the liberty of releasing you're comrades, the Kyoshi Warriors."

"You did?" Suki questioned in a hopeful tone.

"Indeed."

Mikey and Casey at the same time came up toward Leatherhead, the Orange-clad Turtle came up to him in a hug. "Leatherhead!"

The mutant alligator gave a laugh. "It's good to see you as well my friend."

"Yep, its like one big family reunion around here." Casey lamented as everyone was talking and catching up with their friends.

This scene did not go unnoticed by Zuko, Mai, Karai, and Ty-Lee; each of them with their own smiles as they felt their own friends deserved this. Of course, Zuko had his own reunion to attend to, one he was a little more nervous about.

"Where is he?" Zuko asked the Guardian who led them there.

"You're uncle is in there, Prince Zuko." The Guardian pointed to the largest tent in the campsite where his uncle would be staying.

Zuko slowly and nervously walked toward the tent, but stopped a few feet from it and fell to his knees, unable to enter. Karai looked toward Ty-Lee and Mai, all three had concerned expressions as they approached Zuko.

"Zuko, are you okay?" Ty-Lee asked as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"No, I'm not okay." Zuko answered honestly as all three young women crouched to his level. "My uncle hates me, I know it. He loved me and supported me in everyway he could, and I still turned against him. How could I even face him?"

"That wasn't you're fault." Mai told him. "Shredder forced you to do it, you didn't have any choice. I'm sure you're uncle knows it."

"Iroh does not hate you." Karai told him. "Back in the Fire Nation, I visited him in his cell and all he talked about was you."

"Really?" Zuko asked in a hopeful tone, looking toward Karai.

"Yes." Karai nodded. "All he ever wanted for you was to find your own path, and now you have."

"And you're sorry for what happened, right?" Ty-Lee asked.

"More sorry than I've ever been about anything." Zuko confirmed.

"Then he'll forgive you. I know he will." Ty-Lee told him.

"And no matter what happens in that tent, we're still here for you." Mai told Zuko as she gave him a kiss on the cheek, causing him to smile. Karai nodded in confirmation as well, indicating that she would still support Zuko all the way.

The scared Firebender stood up and took a deep breath before he entered the tent. "Uncle". Zuko then heard a loud snore as he saw Iroh sleeping. He gave a humorous smile as he sat down and simply waited for when his uncle would awaken.

* * *

 _Mysterious Island_

Aang and Splinter continued to sit as Aang was voicing his grievances. "All my past lives, even an Air Nomad Avatar, are still expecting me to take a life."

"I am sorry, Aang." Splinter nodded. "However, they have a point. We must put aside our own needs in order to see the bigger picture."

The Avatar looked down slightly until something came to mind. "I have one option left. I'll see if I can ask Yoshi if he knows what to do. He was a Guardian, and he knows the Shredder better than any of my Past Lives."

"You can if you wish." Master Splinter told him. "However, I would not get my hopes up. As you said, my Master Yoshi was a Guardian, sworn enemy of the Foot. I am certain he will tell you the same thing."

"I still have to try." Aang insisted as he entered his meditative trance, followed by Splinter, as Momo watched the two closely. Another blue spectral image materialized between the two, this was Hamato Yoshi, clad in the garb of the Guardians.

"Avatar Aang." Yoshi greeted with a bow, which Aang returned.

"Master Yoshi." He looked to his right and saw the mutant who had once been his pet rat as the rodent sensei smiled to his late master.

Yoshi smiled. "Splinter, I have been watching you and you're sons for quite some time, and nothing has made me more proud than you all have."

Splinter shed a slight tear of joy, which he quickly wiped away. "Thank you, Father."

Aang smiled at this before getting serious and speaking to Yoshi. "Master Yoshi, you are a Guardian of the Utroms, you have been fighting the Foot for a long time. Everyone is expecting me to kill the Shredder. I know what he's planning to do, and I know he has to be stopped, but I don't know if killing him is the only way."

Yoshi have a serious expression before responding. "I recognize this is a difficult task for you, but as you said I am a Guardian and I know full well of what the Shredder is capable of. He must be stopped at any cost." Aang's expression became grim as Yoshi continued to speak. "Countless have suffered before, billions more are now in danger, there is much more going on than your own personal conflict."

"I'm not blind to what's happening." Aang tried.

"I know you are not, but you must know that when it comes to protecting the innocent, you must be willing to make sacrifices to keep them safe." Yoshi replied. "Though I am not an Avatar, I have two pieces of wisdom to share with you. First, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, do whatever it takes to stop the Shredder, at any cost."

Aang sighed as he had a feeling Yoshi would say that. "What's the second piece?"

"Knowing when to rely on others." Yoshi said, surprising Aang. "I know that you are the protector of this world, however, not all the world has to bear on you're shoulders. There are those around you who are more willing to share the load with you. Allow those people to help, and I guarantee you will find what you are looking for. Do what you must Avatar Aang." Yoshi said before vanishing.

Aang couldn't believe it. Deep down he had a feeling Yoshi would say that, but it was still his only hope then. "So… that's it? I'm going to kill the Shredder?"

"I do not believe that is you're only option." Splinter shook his head.

"You heard what he said! You heard what all of them said!" Aang exclaimed. "They're telling me to kill him! I know he's evil but…"

"Aang, Master Yoshi also told you to know when to rely on others." Splinter said. "I believe this is one such time."

"What are you talking about?" Aang asked.

"You are the Avatar and have a duty to protect this world." Splinter began. "However, the Shredder is not of your world. He is not only your responsibility, he is mine as well. I made a vow to defeat him, not just to avenge Master Yoshi, but also to protect all others from his evil, and I have every intention of doing that. If you do not feel you are capable of ending his life that is fine. I shall do it in your place."

That took Aang by surprise. "What? You… you would really do that?"

"I must." Master Splinter confirmed.

"I can't ask you to do that!" Aang exclaimed once more. "I know he's your enemy, but if I just let someone else do my job for me…"

"Aang, Master Yoshi said you had to look at the bigger picture." Master Splinter continued. "And you must know, that the Shredder is not the only monster out there. I have faced many in my time."

As Master Splinter spoke, his mind flashed back to certain enemies that fit his descriptions.

"I have seen beings who have an unquenchable thirst for power and are willing to do anything to get to it." Splinter immediately thought of Draco from the Battle Nexus tournament in his quest to steal the Daimyo's War-Staff. "As well as those who are driven by revenge and are blinded in their quest." Splinter's next thoughts we're of the Daimyo's son, the Ultimate Ninja, in his quest to destroy Leonardo as vengeance for his defeat at his eldest son's hands. "Including those who are deluded by their own granger and believe themselves to be saviors, when in fact they are even more monstrous than those they claim to fight." Finally Master Splinter thought of Agent Bishop of the EPF and his xenophobic crimes.

"These kinds of beings; there is only one course of action that we must take to truly defeat them." Splinter continued to speak to Aang. "They cannot be reasoned with or bargained with. We must defeat them, however we can."

Aang had listened to all of this and did not know what to say. Splinter placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We will face the Shredder, and I know that you will help to stop him. However, if you are unable to finish him, then I do not blame you. Allow me to do it."

This allowed Aang to give a deep sigh as he did feel some relief, and also some nervousness, as he did not want someone else doing something he felt was his duty alone. But then again, Aang has learned by now that sometimes, it doesn't hurt to let others help.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se; Foot Central Command_

"Out of my way!" Azula brushed Dark Mikey aside as she walked down the hall toward her personal quarters with the Dark Turltes looking toward her from behind.

"Well, someone's in a bad mood." Dark Don noticed.

"Yeah, who put a pin under your bed?" Dark Mikey chuckled. "You're gonna be Queen of the World in just a few days, and you're still cranky! Now that's ironic."

"Who said I was cranky?" Azula questioned. "I don't get cranky."

"Then what do you call what you doing now?" Dark Raph asked. "You seem pretty sore for a soon-to-be queen."

"Probably because she's always cranky." Dark Mikey joked, but he didn't get a chance to laugh as blue fire was shot toward him, causing him to yelp.

"Knock it off!" Dark Leo told Azula as he stood in front of her.

"Watch your tone." Azula scolded to him. "I will soon lead this new world, show some respect!"

"Not yet." Dark Leo said. "Until the comet arrives, you're still just a princess, so maybe _you_ should show some respect." He pointed at her chest as he looked at her in the eyes.

"Are you threatening me?" Azula questioned in a warning tone.

"Maybe I am. What are you gonna do about it?" Dark Leo challenged as the two looked at each other in the eye.

After about a tense minute, Azula sighed before walking into her room and slamming the door shut.

"Like I said, cranky." Dark Mikey added once more.

"I can't believe we got stuck with that brat." Dark Raph grunted.

"We won't have to deal with her much longer." Dark Don said. "Once the comet arrives, we'll just dump her like the rest of this useless world."

Dark Leo gave an evil smirk. "The Fire Nation Princess Azula. She will die as she lived, a self-righteous fool."

* * *

Azula looked at herself in the mirror as she ruffled her hair. "Just who do those wannabe-Turtles thing they are?" She questioned to herself. "Do they realize to whom they speak?!"

"It doesn't hurt to receive criticism once and a while." A new voice spoke up.

Azula looked past her own reflection as she saw the image of her mother Ursa in the mirror.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Azula questioned.

"I can't stand the sight of my own daughter in pain." Ursa said.

"Don't pretend like you care!" Azula exclaimed. "I know what you think of me, you think I'm a monster."

"I think you may be confused." Ursa told her. "Maybe you should take a deep breath and think."

"What's there to think about?" Azula questioned once more. "I'm gonna be Empress of this new world!"

"Will you be?" The image of Ursa wondered. "Do you honestly believe you will, or is that simply what the Shredder told you."

"Why would he lie?"

"Perhaps to control you?" The Ursa image replied. "You're afraid of him, I know it, I can see the fear in your eyes. He is using your fear of him to control you, like how you tried to control your friends Mai and Ty-Lee."

Azula grimaced. "Well what choice did I have? So what if I'm afraid of him!" She turned around, facing the opposite direction of the mirror. "Trust is for fools! Fear is the only reliable way. Even you fear me."

"No. I love you Azula. I do."

Tears formed in the young girls eyes as she angrily grabbed a brush from her drawer and threw it at the mirror, shattering it, along with the image of her mother. Azula then fell to her knees and began to cry.

* * *

The sun had begun to rise at the campsite where the White Lotus, Guardians, and all our heroes had been staying. While everyone else had been getting some shut-eye, Zuko stayed in his uncle's tent. He didn't go to sleep as he just waited for his uncle to awaken.

Iroh then began to stir awake, he stretched his arms and gave a yawn. He glanced behind him to see his nephew was there before turning around with a neutral expression.

There was a pained look on Zuko's face as he began to speak. "Uncle, I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me." His voice began to crack as tears formed in his eyes. "But I want you to know… I am so, so sorry Uncle!" Zuko cried. "I am so sorry and ashamed of what I did! I don't know how I can ever make it up to you! But I…"

Zuko didn't get a chance to finish as Iroh pulled his nephew into a hug as the elderly man both smiled and shed his own tears of joy.

"How can you forgive me so easily?!" The still-teary Zuko questioned. "I thought you would be furious with me!"

"I was never angry with you, I was sad." Iroh said. "Because I feared you lost your way."

"I did loose my way." Zuko replied.

"No, not on your own." Iroh held his nephew by the shoulders, as he looked him in the eyes. "It wasn't your doing. Someone else forced you onto that path. But despite the threats and darkness that laid down that path, you resisted and have chosen a path of light. And I am so happy you followed that light here."

Zuko rubbed his face. "I didn't do it on my own though. I had some help."

Just outside; Ty-Lee and Mai slept with their backs against a tent, while Karai sat right outside the entrance to the tent with a look of contemplation on her face. She heard the tent open.

"Karai."

She turned to the sound of Zuko's voice and saw him, along with his Uncle, walk out to greet her.

"Iroh…" Karai began to speak. "I know this seems odd, but…." Karai was cut off when Iroh pulled her into a hug as well.

"Karai, I always knew there was something special about you." Iroh told her as he pulled her out of the hug and looked at her with a smile. "Thank you so much for taking such great care of my nephew."

She gave her own smile. "Your welcome, but honestly, it was your nephew who took more care of me than I did for him." Karai looked to Zuko with a smile who gave his own in return.

* * *

 _Mysterious Island_

It was fully morning as Master Splinter, Aang, and Momo slept in the hexagon-shaped hole. Splinter's acute senses picked up something as he felt something in the wind and heard some form of movent around the island. He woke up as he looked around and saw the clouds above moving.

Momo had awoken from the same effect and looked at Splinter. "Yes, I sense it as well." Splinter told the lemur before waking up Aang. "Aang, wake up." He nudged Aang's shoulder a bit.

Aang gave a yawn as he sat up. "Morning Master Splinter." He rubbed his eye.

"Look!" Splinter pointed forward toward an opening in the trees. Aang saw what Splinter was pointing to and looked confused.

"Wait… is it just me.. or are those mountains getting bigger?" He wondered.

"It is not just you." Splinter answered. "Although mountains do not grow on there own. Something else is amiss here."

Aang and Splinter both looked toward each other as they went straight up. Aang used his Airbending for a direct shot to the top of the tallest tree on the so-called island, while Master Splinter used his own agility to hop from branch-to-branch before they we're btoh perched on the top with Momo on Aang's shoulder. Aang looked behind and saw water moving behind the island and it dawned on them.

"They're not getting larger, they're getting closer!" Aang exclaimed.

"This island is moving!" Splinter stated as well as they jumped down and ran downhill. "No, this is no island."

"You're right, so what is it?" Aang questioned as they both made it to the edge of the moving island. Aang immediately dove into the water so he could get a view underneath it. Momo looked around and chirped for Aang to reappear as Splinter looked around as well for an explanation as to what was going on.

Once Aang was underwater he swam down a bit, he saw the island was not attached to anything. But his eyes widened as he heard rumbling and saw a massive paw-like appendage brush past him, to show that the island was alive. He quickly shot himself up to the surface.

"What is it?" Splinter asked as he saw Aang's head pop above the surface.

"Master Splinter, Momo, it's amazing! This whole island is really the biggest animal in the world!" Aang exclaimed. "I gotta swim around and find its face!"

Aang then quickly swam, using Waterbending to propel him faster, along the side of this mysterious animal while Momo flew above him and Master Splinter hopped from branch-to-branch along the side to keep up with Aang. There was no doubt in Splinter's mind that they were meant to be here. Now they had to find out why.

* * *

 _Campsite_

Pretty much everyone had woken up in the massive campsite. Every member of the White Lotus, all the Guardians, as well as everyone from the Invasion Force from the Day of Black Sun, even the Kyoshi Warriors we're all present and talking while some had breakfast and at the same time, readying their weapons as this was the day that Sozin's Comet would arrive.

Just outside of Iroh's tent, the general himself was clad in the garb of the White Lotus as he, Zuko, Leo, Katara, Raph, Toph, Mikey, Sokka, Don, Karai, Suki, Mai, April, Ty-Lee, Casey, and Hakoda all sat in a circle as they each had their own breakfast with them. Sokka bore his Water Tribe warrior's armor. Both Iroh and Hakoda had been informed that Shredder was planning to use Sozin's Comet to end all life on the planet and we're now contemplating their next move.

"Uncle, you're the only person in the world, other than the Avatar, who can possibly help us defeat the Shredder." Zuko told him.

"He may be right Iroh." Leo said. "Aang and Master Splinter are nowhere to be found. Even with the Sword of Tengu we need all the help we can get if we're gonna take Shredder down for good."

"So, will you help us?" Karai asked.

Iroh took all their words in and spoke. "No Karai. It won't turn out well."

"What do you mean it won't?" Raph asked somewhat angrily. "Don't tell me you're getting cold feet."

"No, it's not like that at all." Iroh replied calmly.

"Then what is it?" Mikey questioned. "We've seen you in action, you're awesome! Not to mention you have a Battle Nexus win under you're belt!"

"Plus you are a Firebender, along with Zuko." Don added. "Sozin's Comet will enhance you're abilities far greater than even Shredder can stand against."

"Not to mention we have the Sword of Tengu." Katara pointed out. "With all of us working together, we can stop Shredder."

"You all have made valid points." Iroh admitted. "However, the Battle Nexus was a long time ago for me. I am not as young as I used to be, even Sozin's Comet cannot make up for that. But even that isn't it."

"So… what is it?" Casey asked.

"Even if I could defeat the Shredder, and I am not certain that I can, it would be the wrong way to end the war." Iroh replied.

"What do you mean by that?" April asked.

"History will just see it as more senseless violence." Iroh answered. "The brother of a tyrant killing another tyrant to grab power. The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar and you four Turtles together to defeat the Shredder."

"Wait, are you sure?" Katara asked. "There's no other way?"

"Cause I'm not sure if you noticed, but we've tried to kick Bucket-Head's bucket before." Raph pointed out. "Obviously it didn't work out."

"And the last time Twinkle Toes took on Shredder, he almost died." Toph pointed out.

"There is a reason for this." Iroh began. "The Avatar alone could not defeat the Shredder, and the Turtles alone could not defeat him either. However, if you five we're to work together to stop him, I am certain that you can defeat him. You may not even need that sword."

The group looked toward each other, their faces shown mixtures of concern and a little bit of doubt.

"What about us though?" Sokka asked. "What are we gonna do?"

Hakoda placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Sokka, I think you already know the answer to that."

Sokka looked to his sister, who looked to Suki, who looked to Toph as well. Though Toph could not look, she could feel their patterns in their bodies and knew as she nodded as well.

"Looks like we're gonna fight the Shredder as well." Katara said.

"Personally, I'm looking forward to a little payback myself." Toph punched her left fist in her right palm.

"That's the spirit kid." Raph ruffled her hair.

"So, after Shredder is defeated, then will you come and take your rightful place on the throne?" Zuko asked his uncle.

"No." Iroh answered. "Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko."

None we're more surprised than Zuko himself. "Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes."

"Indeed you have." Karai said. "You as well as I. I know that you have struggled a great deal, but I also know you're uncle may be right. You not only restored your own honor, but you also helped me in restoring mine. And I believe it is you who can restore honor to the Fire Nation."

Ty-Lee smiled. "I know you can do it Zuko. You're too stubborn to fail."

"Well she's not wrong." Mai added as she smiled at her boyfriend. "And the rest of us have your back."

Zuko took all their words in as he looked deep in thought. "Okay then." Leo spoke up. "So Zuko becomes the new Fire Lord when this is over, but right now we have to focus on stopping the Shredder." Leo stated.

"What if Aang and Master Splinter don't come back?" Sokka asked.

"I doubt that's the case." Hakoda pointed out. "Sozin's Comet arrives tonight. I doubt Aang and Splinter are gonna abandon us."

"I agree with Hakoda, Aang and Master Splinter will both join you as you all face your destiny this day." Iroh added. "When I was a boy, I had a vision I would one day take Ba-Sing-Se. Only know do I see that my destiny is to _liberate_ it from the Foot so the Earth Kingdom can be free again."

"That's why you gathered the members of the White Lotus, broke out the Invasion Force and the Kyoshi Warriors, and joined the Guardians." Suki pointed out.

"Yes." Iroh confirmed. He looked once more to his nephew. "Zuko, you must join the Avatar and the Turtles as well. You must help them defeat the Shredder so that you can assume the throne. However, Azula will be by his side, waiting for you."

"Don't worry." Zuko said. "Karai and I can handle Azula, right?" He looked toward his friend.

"Yes we can." Karai replied as she smiled. "And personally, I am eager to finally put that girl in her place."

"Alright then. What's the plan?" Sokka asked.

"We'll work with everyone here." Leo began. "With a massive army like the Guardians, White Lotus, and all our allies together, Shredder is no doubt going to throw everything he has at that. But, the attack is just a distraction; with all the Foot and their Fire Nation forces focused solely on the attack; Zuko, myself, and everyone will sneak in from the rear of Shredder's fortress via an underground tunnel Toph will make and take him out. We will wait for Aang and Master Splinter before we go in though. I know they will join us."

"Why would Toph make a tunnel though?" Mikey asked. "Wouldn't it be easier to fly on Appa?"

"Not a good idea." Don said. "Shredder's plan unfolds tonight so he probably has eyes everywhere, not to mention we're right at his doorstep right now."

"Exactly." Leo agreed. "Appa will be too easy to spot, we can't afford to be seen till the fighting starts. I think he can do more if he helps out everyone else in the attack."

Zuko looked toward two of his friends. "Mai, Ty-Lee, I think its best you two help out my Uncle in this fight." That caught both girls by surprise.

"April, Casey, you guys should probably stick with them to." Raph pointed out, much to their surprise as well.

"Wait, you don't want us to help you?" Ty-Lee asked.

"Yeah we're coming with you!" Casey pointed out.

"No you're not." Leo said. "You guys are good, but we need not only our best fighters for when we fight Shredder, we also need to keep our group as small as possible. Between me and my brothers, Team Avatar, Karai, and Aang and Splinter for when they show up; that'll be twelve people in total. That's quite a big group already, we can't afford anymore."

"You all know he is right." Karai was in agreement.

Mai looked toward Ty-Lee as April did to Casey. They came to a silent agreement to stay with the attack force.

Katara looked toward Hakoda with a bit of worry. "Dad, are you sure you want to do this? This won't be like the Day of Black Sun. Sozin's Comet will make the Firebenders unbelievably strong."

"And the Foot have all sorts of high-tech stuff at their disposal." Sokka pointed out. "Not to mention that flying death machine, the Foot Carrier."

"We'll manage." Hakoda told them. "But its important that your team takes down Shredder before he launches Project Meteoroid; otherwise, we're all doomed."

Everyone was silent for about a minute before Leo broke it. "It won't be pretty. This will be the most difficult battle any of us have ever thought. But the fate of not just this world, every world, is depending on us. Loosing is not an option."

"No, it isn't." Zuko agreed as everyone nodded in determination.

* * *

After everyone finished their breakfast they got ready. Leo, Raph Don, Mikey, Zuko, Toph, Katara, Sokka, Karai, and Suki gathered together in a circle as Toph made an Earthbending stance and created a large circular hole for them to jump into.

"Okay, it's all ready." Toph said. "I'll take us directly under Ba-Sing-Se and to the back of the Outer Ring. Once the fighting starts and we see Aang and Splinter, I'll lead us directly under Shredder's house where we'll start knocking… some heads!"

The group turned around to the group consisted of Iroh, Hakoda, April, Casey, Mai, Ty-Lee, Piando, Pakku, Bumi, Jeong-Jeong, the Guardian leader, Usagi, Traximus, Leatherhead, and Professor Honeycutt, along with Appa behind them.

"You guys take care." Raph told the group.

"And you as well." The Guardian nodded as he bowed, whom everyone else did in response. "Karai." He looked toward the former Foot kunoichi. "I am glad that you have chosen a path of light. As of this day, you can consider the Guardians your allies."

Karai smiled as she gave a grateful bow. "Thank you, Guardian." She was quickly embraced in a hug by Ty-Lee, which Karai returned.

"You come back, okay Karai?" She looked to her friend. "You promise you'll come back?"

Karai smiled to her. "I promise, my friend. I will return." Ty-Lee smiled as she walked back.

Mai walked toward Zuko. "So… this is it, huh?"

"Looks like it." Zuko replied as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Mai, I…" He was cut off as the girl pulled him in for a passionate kiss on the lips. He was surprised at first but returned the kiss. After a few seconds they pulled apart. "If you die, I'll kill you." Mai warned.

Zuko smiled as he let go of Mai's hand and she joined the others.

"Good luck, my friends." Leatherhead said to all four Turtles as Usagi bowed alongside him, even Professor Honeycutt bowed as well; all four Turtles bowed in return.

Katara and Sokka shared one last hug with their father before joining the others as April hugged Leo, Mikey, Raph, and Don in that order while Casey fist-bumped each of them when she was done hugging them.

"So long guys." April told them.

"Have fun storming the castle!" Casey joked to them.

The group of ten youngsters approached the hole before Zuko looked toward his Uncle. "So if I'm going to be Fire Lord when the war is over, what are you gonna do?"

Iroh smiled. "After I re-conquer Ba-Sing-Se, I'm going to re-conquer my tea-shop!" He smiled as he flipped a Pai-Sho tile. "And I'm going to play Pai-Sho everyday!"

The groups looked toward each other one last time before Leonardo spoke the last words. "Goodbye General Iroh."

"Goodbye everyone." Iroh replied. "Today, Destiny is our friend. I know it."

With that; Leo, Karai, Zuko, Katara, Raph, Mikey, Toph, Sokka, Don, and Suki all jumped down the hole, which Toph quickly closed with her Earthbending.

* * *

The island, revealed to be a large animal, had swam almost to the shores of the Earth Kingdom, which coincidentally wasn't to far from Ba-Sing-Se. While Splinter had quickly arrived to the front of the creature on the surface with Momo flying near him, Aang had already swam to the other side and dove straight underwater. Master Splinter wasted no time in diving after him.

The two swam down for quite a bit before they came to a massive face. One eye opened up to spot the two. The creature then lifted one of its massive paws up from the surface. It was so large and moved so fast that neither Aang nor Splinter could move as they we're quickly forced up onto the surface on the paw of the large creature as it showed its face.

Master Splinter's mouth opened as he let out an audible 'aw' in surprise. This creature had the face of a lion with two fangs curved upward. "I… I never… what creature is this?"

"A Lion-Turtle." Aang breathed in answering Splinter. "This is an ancient and wise creature. I thought they we're all extinct."

"It would seem not." Splinter breathed, still quite surprised. Aang was the first to get over this surprise as he made a respectful bow to the Lion-Turtle.

Splinter recovered from his surprise. "It was you. It was you who called us to you, wasn't it?"

"Yes. I did." The Lion-Turtle confirmed. Splinter wasn't surprised that it spoke; at this point nothing else could surprise him.

"Maybe you can help me." Aang began to speak to the Lion-Turtle who listened. "Everybody, even my own past lives, are expecting me to end someone's life. But I don't know if I can do it. And I'm not to comfortable with letting others do it for me either." He looked toward the mutant rodent. "I'm sorry, Master Splinter." The humanoid rat nodded in understanding.

"The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed". The Lion-Turtle began to lift its other massive paw slowly toward Aang. "Since beginningless time, darkness thrives in the void, but always leads to purify light." The Lion-Turtle touched its fingers toward Aang's forehead and heart where a green glow was seen on both.

After a brief flash; the Lion-Turtle dropped both Aang and Master Splinter off on the shore of the Earth Kingdom with Momo flying onto Aang's shoulder.

"Go to him." The Lion-Turtle spoke to Aang and Splinter. "He is waiting for you."

Both Master Splinter and Aang bowed to the Lion-Turtle as it sank back into the water and swam away from the shore. Master Splinter looked in the distance past the mountains.

"I do not believe we are far from Ba-Sing-Se." Splinter spoke as he looked to the young Avatar. "Are you prepared for the battle to come?"

Aang gave a deep breath. "I'm ready. The only issue is, how do we get there? We can't make it to Ba-Sing-Se on foot."

"We may not have to." Splinter pointed to a few feet away and they saw a giant lizard-like creature.

"It's an eel-hound!" Aang said as he walked close it. "I used to ride these things all the time when I was a kid. There is no creature alive in my world that can run faster. I bet he can help us get to Ba-Sing-Se."

The eel-hound turned toward its side and motioned for Aang and Splinter to get on. It was as if the creature was there for the purpose of helping them. They both hopped on and the eel-hound wasted no time in running at top-speed toward Ba-Sing-Se.

* * *

The image of Avatar Aang and Master Splinter could be seen in the pool within the shrine of the Foot Mystics as all five elemental warriors watched.

"The time approaches my brothers." The Fire Mystic spoke. "Everything now falls into place."

"Yes." The Water Mystic said in agreement. "The Utrom Shredder's plan for this world is underway."

"And the Avatar as well as the Turtles and their allies approach as well." The Wind Mystic spoke as well.

"All forces now collide in battle that will decide the fate of this world." The Earth Mystic said. "But the outcome will not matter."

"Indeed." The Metal Mystic agreed. "Once the Avatar arrives, we will finally achieve our goal and he will be the one who sets us free!"

* * *

Night had now fallen over the Foot occupied Earth Kingdom capital. The Shredder, clad completely in his silver armor, stood at the top of his citadel. Hun and Azula we're on his right along with the four Foot Elite ninjas; while Stockman, Hama, and the Dark Turtles we're at his left as Shredder looked up at the night sky.

"The final sun has set on this world." Shredder spoke. "The phoenix rises from the ashes of the old to clear away the path to my new glorious empire!"

Sozin's Comet had now arrived. It had entered the earth's atmosphere and began its orbit around the planet. Fire soared around the Comet as the night sky began to glow a bright red. Shredder and his lackeys looked out from the top of the fortress as the sky changed.

Avatar Aang and Master Splinter, along with Momo, rode the eel-hound past the mountain with the city of Ba-Sing-Se right in their sights. The final battle was about to begin.

 **Done.**

 **Thank you all for waiting so much. A lot has happened in this chapter.**

 **Both Azula and Hama are unraveling in their own way; Aang and Splinter have met the Lion-Turtle and are on their way to Ba-Sing-Se. They will soon meet up with the Turltes, the rest of Team Avatar, and Karai as they storm the Foot stronghold where they will encounter a series of obstacles before they finally face the Shredder.**

 **Meanwhile; the Order of the White Lotus, the Guardians of the Utroms, the old Invasion Force from the Day of Black Sun, and even the Kyoshi Warriors have all joined together to liberate the Foot-occupied Ba-Sing-Se, and it will not be an easy task.**

 **Not to mention the Foot Mystics have their own secret agenda.**

 **As you might imagine, the remaining two parts (possibly three, if they get too long) will not be like the cannon Avatar series. The next chapter will contain elements from the TMNT season 3 finale "Exodus" as well as my own elements for the story.**

 **Hold onto your shells everyone. The Final Battle for "Worlds Collide" will begin soon.**


	33. Sozin's Comet - Exodus

**Hi everyone. Thanks for waiting, and I apologize for the time it took to get this up. This chapter is more my own original content rather than just based off an episode, with quite a few characters and events going on; hence why it is so very long. Once again, thanks for waiting as we enter Part 3 of Sozin's Comet.**

 **Sozin's Comet – Exodus**

Sozin's Comet had arrived. As it passed through the atmosphere, the entire sky had turned red, almost as if the sky itself had been stained with blood. The Comet could be seen almost like a streak of fire in the sky as it began its orbit.

On a small cliffside, facing the south most end of the outer wall to Ba-Sing-Se stood a group of individuals who would try their absolute best to save this world. Leonardo, Katara, Zuko, Raphael, Toph, Donatello, Sokka, Michelangelo, Suki, and Karai.

"Looks like the comet's here." Leo observed as they saw the streak in the sky.

"Which means it's almost time." Zuko stated.

Suki looked at the comet a bit. "You know, it actually looks kind of beautiful."

"Yeah, it does look kinda cool, doesn't it?" Mikey observed as well.

"To bad the Shredder's gonna use to destroy the world." Toph said in a grim tone.

Zuko looked a bit down to the ground, something the Waterbender of the group noticed. "Zuko don't worry, we can take Shredder." Katara told him.

"Yeah, with all of us, and the Sword of Tengu, he won't stand a chance." Raph agreed.

"It's not him I'm worried about." Zuko said. "Sozin's Comet is here and were missing two key players."

"Don't worry, they'll be here." Katara replied. "They have to."

"Well they better be here soon." Sokka stated before turning to the former Foot kunoichi. "Karai, how much time till Shredder's ship takes off?"

"I'd say roughly three hours." Karai answered grimly.

"That's not long." Don said in a sigh tone of voice.

"Dr. Chaplin said he would do all he can to slow it down, but we will need to hurry."

"Karai's right." Leo said. "As soon as the fighting starts, Toph will dig a tunnel and we'll go right into the heart of Shredder's stronghold."

Everyone nodded. However, Toph's eyes widened as her seismic sense picked up something. "Hey guys, something's coming this way. And it's moving fast!" She pointed in the direction she felt the presence.

The rest of the group looked and saw something heading their way at a fast rate. "What is it?" Suki asked.

"Whatever it is, we don't have time!" Raph exclaimed.

Don got a good look once it got closer. "It looks like some kind of eel-raptor hybrid. And I think someone's riding on it."

As the creature moved closer, everyone else got a good view of two individuals riding on it. They each saw and each bore their own smile as they recognized them instantly.

"It's Aang!" Katara said joyously.

"And Master Splinter!" Mikey exclaimed elatedly as well.

It was true, the Avatar and mutant rodent ninjitsu master, both riding an eel-hound had arrived on the scene. Momo was also flying above them as the eel-hound quickly slid to a stop right in front of the group as Aang and Splinter got off.

"Hey everyone." Aang greeted with a smile as the whole group surrounded the two.

"Yes it is good to see you to." Master Splinter responded to many of the warm welcome greetings the group got.

"I'm so glad you're okay Aang!" Katara said as she pulled him into a hug.

"Thanks Katara."

"Not to sound ungrateful but…. Where the shell have you two been?!" Raph questioned.

"Yeah, you guys just vanished on us! Do you have any idea how worried we've been about you?!" Toph questioned as well.

"Where the heck we're you?" Sokka also questioned.

Aang had a remorseful look. "Guys, I'm sorry I just took off like that. But honestly, I'm not sure what happened."

This seemed to confuse the group quite a bit. "What do you mean you're not sure?" Don asked.

"It is a long and strange tale." Splinter told the group. "However, we do not have the time to go into the specifics at the moment." He looked into the sky. "Sozin's Comet has arrived, which means the Shredder's plan is now underway."

"Yes, you are correct." Karai confirmed.

Leo and Katara both looked toward Aang. "Hey uh Aang, have you figured out what to do?" Leo asked.

Katara also spoke. "Last time we talked, you we're upset about…"

Aang sighed. "I know, but I know what to do now. And I'm to face to the Shredder."

This earned smiles amongst the group. "Now that's what I like to hear Twinkle Toes."

"So, what are we waiting for?" Aang asked. "Let's go."

"Not yet." Zuko stopped Aang before he could take off. "On our way here, we ran into some old friends, my Uncle included." He smirked. "And they're gonna cause a bit of a racket for Shredder."

Aang looked a bit confused, but Splinter was able to understand. "I see. A distraction then."

"Yep." Leo confirmed. "We're just waiting for the fight to start. Which should be any minute."

* * *

Meanwhile; on the other side of the city, several hundred yards right at the main gate of Ba-Sing-Se stood what appeared to be small army. A large alliance of members of the Order of the White Lotus, the Guardians of the Utroms, the Kyoshi Warriors, along with all the warriors, mutants, Waterbenders, and Earthbenders from the Invasion Force all stood outside the gate as they glared onward. At the front of the helm we're Iroh, Bumi, Usagi, Jeong-Jeong, Piando, Pakku, and the leader of the Guardians.

"Ba-Sing-Se; the Order of the White Lotus, the Guardians, and many others are here." Bumi said.

"We are all here to set you free." Usagi added.

"Allies from across multiple words have joined together to liberate you and this world from the tyranny of the Shredder." The leader of the Guardians added as well.

Iroh as at the very front. "Only once every hundred years can a Firebender experience _this_ kind of power."

The Dragon of the West inhaled deeply as he could feel the power of Sozin's Comet enhance his own abilities. As he inhaled a ring of fire formed around him and the rock-platform he and his allies stood on. This repeated a couple of times before Iroh let off a large roar thrusting his hands forward. This resulted in a massive fire-ball, five-times the size of his usual attack, being created instantly which he launched directly at the gates of the occupied city.

As soon as the fireball hit the gate it and a large portion the wall all blew up in a gargantuan explosion.

Bumi gave a maniacal grin as he used his mastery Earthbending to create a series of platforms to propel the entire Alliance directly toward the opening Iroh had created. A series of fireballs we're shot toward them, but Iroh deflected them away with little difficulty.

Once they were close enough, Appa flew directly above what was left of the gate and down toward the city where he whipped his tail to create a powerful gust of wind to blow back several Fire Nation tanks. As soon as Appa landed, multiple Fire Nation soldiers and Foot ninja quickly surrounded him.

"GOONGALA!" Casey shouted as he leaped off of Appa along with April, Mai, and Ty-Lee.

Casey had a hockey stick on hand, which he used to smack down four enemies as he landed. April was next with her katana as she clashed with a couple of Foot soldiers. Ty-Lee landed in the middle of a squad of Firebenders along with Mai back-to-back. Ty-Lee used punches and kicks to block the chi of all the enemy on her side while Mai threw several knives with pinpoint accuracy to pin them all to a nearby wall.

Right as that squad was taken care off; Pakku was on top of a piece of rubble from the opening as he bent a huge portion of water behind him and sent it down directly at a large squad of Firebenders, extinguishing their attacks, which he froze quickly to immobilize them. As it froze, both Usagi and Piando slid down on the ice with their swords to clash with a series of Foot ninja.

A line of Firebending tanks was about to open fire from down a street, but a massive wall of fire, erected by Jeong-Jeong as he hovered in the air with flames on his feet, blocked the attack. He would block all attacks from the tanks as the rest of the Alliance quickly poured in.

Several Foot Soldiers ran across the rooftops and toward the opening; but when the got there, at least seven Guardian ninjas fell to the ground and landed dramatically as they reached into their each of trenchcoats and pulled out their high-tech katana blades, which hummed to life. The Guardians led the attack as the rest of the Alliance poured in.

Hakoda led the large group consisting of not just Water Tribe Warriors, Earthbenders, Kyoshi Warriors, Swampbenders, White Lotus and even Guardian members; but also Leatherhead, Gen, Haru, Tyro, the Boulder, the Hippo, Traximus, Professor Honeycutt, Bato, even the Freedom Fighters formerly led by the late Jet.

"GO! ATTACK!" Hakoda yelled as everyone poured in, thus beginning the liberation of Ba-Sing-Se.

* * *

Explosions could be seen from the sky where the Foot Carrier was stationed. The Elite Ninja we're at the command to make sure everything went on scheduled for Project Meteoroid. So far, it hadn't. They, as well as everyone in the command center looked in shock as they could see from their screens the war that was taking place down below them.

"Contact the Master immediately!" One Elite exclaimed to a Foot technician.

* * *

 _Foot Central Command_

Within the main lab that was adjacent to the ship that was ready for launch; The Shredder was present, along with Hun, Azula, Hama, Stockman, and the Dark Turtles, all of which we're making final preparations.

There was an alert on a console, which Stockman was quick to respond. "Master?"

"What is it?" Shredder questioned.

"We are receiving a transmission." Stockman said, gaining everyone's attention as Shredder walked to the console and opened the line.

" _Master Shredder!"_ One Elite Ninja was reporting. _"Ba-Sing-Se is under siege!"_

"What?" Shredder questioned. Everyone else looked on as the Elite continued to report.

" _Multiple rebel forces have invaded the city, but that isn't the worst of it! It's the Guardians! They are in the city!"_

"The Guardians?!" Shredder exclaimed. "Here?! How could they have found us so soon!?"

" _They are quickly fighting through the city and will be within range soon."_

"Do whatever it takes to slow them down!" Shredder ordered. "Destroy the entire city if you have to! They must not enter the fortress!" Shredder cut off transmission before he sliced the console to pieces in frustration. "This changes everything!"

"Master, shouldn't we be out there?" Hun asked.

"No." Shredder replied. "If Ba-Sing-Se is under attack now, then the Turtles and the Avatar cannot be far behind! Ready the ship and prepare for battle! The ship must be ready to launch before Sozin's Comet passes!"

"Yes Master Shredder." Azula, Hama, Hun, Stockman, and the Dark Turtles all bowed at the same time as they made preparations while Shredder gave a frustrated grunt. He was so close, so close, and he will not have his plans ruined by mutants and children.

* * *

Back on the outskirts, the Turtles, Team Avatar, along with Splinter and Karai could hear the fighting.

"There's our distraction! Toph, we need that tunnel!" Leo ordered.

"You got it." Toph quickly made a large hole. "Everyone in the hole, I'll lead the way."

Everyone nodded as they all jumped down into the hole and ran. Zuko and Aang used Firebending to create light for the group as Toph led them under the city and directly toward the Foot citadel. The group ran for a couple of minutes before they stopped at a large metal wall.

"Looks like this is it." Don guessed.

Toph felt her hand on the wall. "Yeah, this is it alright. I can feel quite a few Foot guys on the other side."

"Then we must be prepared for anything. We are entering the lion's den." Master Splinter stated as everyone unsheathed their respective weapons or took bending stances.

"Is everyone ready?" Leo asked. Everyone nodded.

"Lets do it." Aang said with determination.

Toph got to work with her Metalbending as she punched a hole into the wall and began to pry it apart, creating an opening where the entire group ran in and came face-to-face with a couple dozen Foot Ninjas.

"Now that's a lot of ninjas." Sokka noted.

"Yeah, they should have brought a whole lot more." Raph cracked.

There was a bit of a stare down between the two sides. "So, are we doing this with banter, or without?" Mikey joked. The Foot soldiers each yelled as they charged forward at their enemy. "Definitely without."

With that, the heroes clashed against the enemy. Leo was the first as he clashed his katanas against the swords of several Foot ninja, but Leo was much to quick for them as he not only blocked all their attacks, but also took them down with only a few slashes and kicks.

Aang sent an air-gust forward with his right hand to block back three incoming ninja before he ducked under a slice from a ninja attempting to kill him from behind. He leaped over that ninja and used Airbending to propel him forward into another group of enemy ninja.

Raph blocked one staff with his sai before he pulled the ninja down and threw him back at three more incoming ninja, knocking them out as he got up with his sai and went on the offensive as usual at any poor fool unfortunate enough to try and face him.

Katara bent the water from her satchels around her arms as she snapped and whipped at two enemy ninja, sending them flying back. She froze her right tentacle to block shurikens heading her direction before she used her left tentacle to ensnare the ninja, pull him close into a kick to the face to knock him out before flinging him back at two more coming from behind.

Don thrusted his staff forward into the gut of one Foot soldier before thrusting it backs at an enemy from behind. He used his staff to block an attack from a third ninja before snapping the sword out of his hands and knock him down with a staff-strike.

Toph was surrounded by at least six Foot ninjas; they slowly paced toward her with weapons at the ready. The Earthbender simply smirked as she made the first move. She jumped upward and landed hard to create a circular earth-wave to knock back several ninja. Five more came in from the ceiling to cut her down with their swords, but as Toph heard their yells, she thrusted her hands up and clenched her fists, using Metalbending to bend their swords into restraints around their hands. The surprise caught them off guard as they hit the ground hard without landing properly.

Mikey had his tongue out as he twirled his nunchucks to bat away Foot ninja who threw kunai-chains at him. He sped forward with his nunchucks at high-speed to bash down the Foot soldiers in front of him. They we're all down in less than five seconds.

"Yeah! Still got it!" Mikey cheered.

Sokka and Suki we're back-to-back as five Ninja surrounded them and charged. Sokka blocked a sword strike from one with his sword as Suki grabbed one coming for her by the shirt and filliping him over into the one in front of Sokka, while swiping the ninja's katana and using it as her own to block a third ninja as Sokka rolled down and blocked a staff rom the fourth ninja before head-butting him down and throw his boomerang into the air right as Suki kicked the ninja she was fighting. The fifth and final ninja was about to charge at both of them, but he never got the chance as the boomerang came back and clunked him in the head, knocking him out, before Sokka caught it.

"Ha! I knew Boomerang would always come back to me!" Sokka said enthusiastically while Suki gave a humorous smile.

Karai quickly used her katanas to cut down the weapons of any Foot Ninjas that we're in her path. She moved with such grace and speed that the enemy didn't even have a chance to respond as she disarmed them quickly before going further on the offensive with her feet and a series of kicks to send them flying.

Master Splinter simply stood as six Foot Ninja surrounded him. He looked with a glare briefly before flashing a series of punches and kicks. In less than a second, all six Foot Ninja fell to the ground in unconsciousness.

Zuko was in a similar scenario as at least ten Foot ninja cautiously approached him. He breathed and exhaled deeply.

"You should be running." Zuko warned them. However the ninja did not heed his advice as they yelled and charged forward.

The Fire Prince, with his enhanced Firebending, shot one fire-fist forward to create a massive stream of fire to blow back all the enemy ninja charging at him. The blast was enough to catch all his friends' attention as they looked with surprise at the sudden increase in Zuko's Firebending. All his enemies we're taken down in one shot.

"Dude…" Mikey breathed.

"You said it." Toph agreed. "That was a lot fire."

"You weren't kidding about Sozin's Comet." Don said to Team Avatar.

"Yeah, I'm more than a bit surprised to." Sokka stated.

"Hey guys, aren't we still on the clock?" Suki reminded.

"Of course, you are right." Master Splinter agreed. "We must find the Shredder now."

There was a beeping noise coming from a communicator within Karai's belt that caught everyone's attention. She reached in and placed it on her ear.

" _Karai, you there?"_

She wears surprised as she recognized the voice. "Dr. Chaplin? Is that you?"

" _Yeah, its me."_ Chaplin responded. _"I got an alert saying there was a perimeter breach within the fortress. I'm guessing that was you and your friends."_

"Yes, but where are you?" Karai asked.

" _Don't worry about me. I've managed to barricade myself in my lab and secure communications. I can help guide you to Shredder but that's all I can do. I'm sorry."_

"No it's alright. I'm at least glad you're alright." Karai responded.

"Yeah, I'm sure you are." Zuko gave Karai a bit of a sly grin, resulting in some chuckles amongst everyone else while Karai just ignored it.

"Can you find us a direct path to the Shredder?" Karai asked Chaplin.

" _Already on it."_ Chaplin responded. _"There should be a doorway on the southeast side of the room your in, it'll lead directly to the main controls where the ship is."_

"Very well." Karai turned to everyone. "Lets move."

"Yeah, lets go." Leo agreed as everyone else nodded. Karai led them through what was left of the large chamber they we're fighting in and toward a doorway. Toph was quick to use her Metalbending to break down the door and everyone ran into the long hallway.

* * *

 _Outside_

The entire city of Ba-Sing-Se had turned into a warzone as the alliance of the Guardians, White Lotus, and their other allies waged a tremendous battle against the Foot and Fire Nation soldiers. Even with Sozin's Comet enhancing the Firebenders' powers, it would seem both sides we're evenly matched.

Fire Nation tanks opened fire down one street toward a group of rebel Earthbenders led by Bumi, but they quickly erected large rock-barriers to block the attack. Bumi then thrusted his fists into the ground to send the tanks each flying straight up via an earth-pillar from the ground. They would each land some yards away, stacking on top of each other.

Multiple Foot Ninja ran across the rooftops as a series of Guardians led by Usagi and Gen ran toward them as well. They all jumped upwards from the rooftops and clashed mid-air with each other, slashing their swords at each other. Several Kyoshi Warriors along with Piando also led a sword-clash against a squad of Foot Ninja in the streets. Even the Freedom Fighters Smellerbee, Pipsqueak, the Duke, and Long-Shot we're seen fighting alongside them.

Several Firebenders lined up to shoot massive streams of fire down one street toward a group of fighters led by Leatherhead, Haru, and Traximus; but Jeong-Jeong arrived to create a shield of fire to protect his allies from the blast. He threw down the shield and let his friends quickly get to work on taking down the enemy in front of them.

Pakku led a group of Swampbenders as they collected all the water from the sewers of the street they were on and sent it in the form of a massive tidal wave to wash away multiple enemy soldiers. Pakku smiled, but his smile soon vanished when he heard loud noises coming from behind, they sounded like large footsteps. Everyone turned around to see at least five large Foot mech-suits.

"Run! RUN!" Pakku exclaimed to his comrades as they made a break for it to avoid the missiles and gunfire shot their way by the Foot mech-suits.

It was not just the Foot-mech suits but a few Foot Helicopters and even a few Foot Razor Jets that flew at intense speeds opening fire down below with lasers and missiles. The attack forced many of the Rebels to run and find ways of taking cover within either sturdy buildings or earth-barriers that Earthbenders would erect. All of that would quickly prove to be the least of their worries as the Foot-carrier hovered over the city and opened fire with lasers and missiles; causing large explosions over the area of which it hovered.

Appa quickly flew underneath a massive rock-dome that sealed up a large portion of the Rebels that we're in the open; among them were Iroh, Mai, April, Casey, Hakoda, and Professor Honeycutt.

"This isn't going very well." Mai noted.

"Gee, you think?" Casey said sarcastically.

"This is completely insane! How are we gonna get out of this one?!" Ty-Lee cried.

"As long as that giant fling fortress is still flying, we can't win." April said, referring to the Foot-Carrier.

"So we gotta bring it down." Hakoda stated.

"How are we gonna do that?" Mai questioned. "That thing is huge!"

"I don't know." Hakoda said truthfully. "Iroh, can't you and Jeong-Jeong bring it down?"

"I do not think so." Iroh replied. "Even with Sozin's Comet enhancing our Firebending, its too high up for us to hit."

"So we use the fur-ball here and fly you up there." Casey pointed to Appa who groaned in response.

"Even if we we're to get up there, I don't know how we can bring it down." April said. "Its outer defenses may shoot us down before we do any damage."

"Perhaps I can help." Professor Honeycutt spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "If you can get me onto that awful flying monstrosity, I may be able to hack into its systems and gain control over it."

That caught everyone by surprise. "You can control that thing?" Mai questioned.

"I believe so." Honeycutt replied. "It was made from an amalgam of Utrom, Triceraton, and Federation technology; and I am knowledgeable with all of them. I will just need to make physical contact with its central controls."

"Okay so we got a plan then." Hakoda spoke up. "April, Casey, and you two girls," He began, referring to Mai and Ty-Lee as well. "We'll take Appa and fly Honeycutt right up there where he can do his thing."

"And while you are up there, I will lead all our forces down here and hold out as long as we can." Iroh added.

Everyone nodded. "Okay, you guys be careful." April told them as she got on Appa's reigns while Hakoda, Honeycutt, Mai, Casey, and Ty-Lee boarded the saddle.

Appa roared as he burst from the rock dome straight upward toward the massive Foot-carrier while Iroh looked directly at the incoming squad of Foot-mech-suits. Iroh glared as he shot a massive fire-stream directly at the enemy.

* * *

 _Inside_

Karai led the Turtles, Splinter, and Team Avatar down the long hallway with Chaplin providing directions.

" _I've done all I can to hack and slow down the launch, but the ship works on its own internal network. I can't stop it from launching."_ Chaplin informed.

"It's alright Chaplin, we can handle the rest." Karai assured.

"How much father up?" Don asked.

"We shouldn't be too far." Karai replied as the group continued to run, but came to a stop as they saw the hall was divided into two path ways up ahead.

"Okay, now which way?" Sokka wondered.

"Dr. Chaplin?" Karai asked on her comn.

" _The schematics show the path on the right leads directly to the laboratory, where the ship will be beyond it."_

"We go right." Karai told the group.

"But what's on the left path?" Katara asked.

"No time to think we have to go." Raph said.

Before they could go however, Aang found himself staring down the left path for some reason. Something the group noticed.

"Aang?" Leo asked.

"Guys… this is gonna sound weird, but I feel some kind of…. Energy coming down this way."

This only seemed to earn confusion, save for Master Splinter who spoke next. "Yes, I sense it as well. I can sense a mystical force in that direction."

"Toph?" Raph asked her given she could likely feel what was beyond there.

However, Toph's expression was of utter confusion. "Uh… This is gonna sound weird, even for me, but… I don't feel anything."

"What?" Sokka questioned as the entire group looked completely shocked.

"What do you mean you don't feel anything?" Zuko questioned.

"Yeah, your seismic sense has never missed something." Mikey pointed out.

"I'm only telling you what I'm feeling with my own two feet, and it just feels like a void down there." Toph stated.

"Dr. Chaplin, what is down this path?" Karai asked on the comns.

" _The schematics don't' show anything really. It's just blank."_

"Well this is certain weird." Suki said. "So which way should we go?"

"I say we go down the right path like Chaplin suggested." Don said.

"Yeah that's a good idea." Zuko agreed. "We have no idea what's down there."

Before the group could go down the rightmost path, Aang spoke up. "Everyone wait. I think I should go down the left path."

This caused the group to look in surprise. "What?! Aang we don't have time to go exploring!" Raph exclaimed.

"For once I have to agree with Raph, Aang." Katara added. "We have no idea what's down there and we're on a time-limit."

"I know." Aang replied. "But I can just feel a strong mystic force in that direction. What if it's some kind of weapon Shredder has for back-up if Project Meteoroid fails?"

This caused Sokka to think. "You know, he does have a point." Everyone looked toward him. "Think about it, Shredder is far from predictable, who's to say he _doesn't_ have some kind of back-up plan?"

"Even if you're right, we can't afford to look right now." Zuko pointed out. "Project Meteoroid is still the immediate threat and we have to take it down."

"Zuko's right." Don agreed. "We can take stop Project Meteoroid now and come back later."

"Then it might be too late." Aang argued.

"Aang I understand you want to be cautious." Leo began. "But we need to…"

Before he could finish, Master Splinter raised his hand. "Perhaps we should separate." This caused everyone to look confused.

"Split up?" Raph questioned.

"I don't think that's a good idea sensei." Leo told him.

"Shouldn't we stick together?" Katara wondered.

"We do not know if Shredder has some sort of weapon in place should his initial plan fail." Splinter began. "And we do have great numbers on our side. Aang, you take Karai and your friends down that path. Find whatever is the source of that energy and meet us later. My sons, you and I will go through the lab."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea Master Splinter?" Suki asked.

"We have little time to argue, so if we want to be quick and thorough, we will need to take such a path." Master Splinter confirmed.

Everyone looked toward each other, looking a bit unsure. Aang looked towards Leo, no need for word exchange as the two came to a silent agreement.

"Alright." Leo said. "Raph, Don, and Mikey with me and Master Splinter. Katara, Zuko, Toph, Suki, Sokka, and Karai with Aang. We'll meet up later. If we encounter any resistance we'll need to deal with it quickly."

"Got it." Everyone else replied.

With that, the group split up. The Turtles and Master Splinter ran down the right hallway while Karai and Team Avatar ran down the left path.

* * *

The doorway opened as the Turtles and their rat-father entered a large laboratory with computer consoles everywhere. But what really caught everyone's attention was at the center, three glass tanks filled green liquid and silloutes of creatures inside them.

Instantly they all had shivers down this spines. "Don, please tell me this isn't what I think it is." Mikey hoped in a frightened tone.

"Its exactly what you think it is, Mikey." Don responded in an equally frightened tone. "A Foot genetics lab."

Raph gave an annoyed groan as he slapped his face. "Come on, not another one!"

No sooner did he say that alarms sounded all over the lab as the mutants prepared themselves for battle by drawing their weapons. The tanks began to open like pods as the green liquid poured out and into the drains below, revealing the mutated creatures that dwelled in them.

The first was a blue amphibian-serpent-like mutant with no arms and amphibious skin. It had a head identical to that of serpent with fins on the sides and red slit eyes as it hissed. It had no arms on it whatsoever.

The second was a thin humanoid like creature with no eyes and light brown skin. It crawled on all fours and was so thin it was almost skin and bone. The mouth was fanged as it gave a light roar.

The final one resembled that of a red humanoid dragon that stood on its hind-legs with razor sharp claws on its hands. It had a reptilian face with green slit eyes and a long parasitic tongue. Its roar was much deeper.

While Leo, Splinter, Don, and Raph prepared for the worst, Mikey was looking a bit more relaxed as he saw these mutants.

"That's it?" Mikey questioned as he laughed. "That's the best Shredder can throw at us?!" He laughed. "Come on, these guys got nothing on Quarry and the others!" He continued to laugh.

Almost in direct response to that statement the creatures began to display additional features. The blue amphibian-serpent had water pouring out of its gills, which fell down its side and quickly sprout a multitude of long water tentacles. The brown-humanoid brought its arms together over its chest as it stood up and rocks from the ground molded all over to create a large rock-like body that covered all but the mutant's face. The dragon-mutant had wings of flame burst out of its chest as it shot fire from its mouth.

This caused Splinter and the Turtles to look in shock. Raph soon scowled to his youngest brother.

"Way to run your mouth off, Mikey!"

"Benders…" Leo breathed as he looked in shock. "They're mutated Benders!"

"Well… Karai did say that Shredder was experimenting with bending." Don pointed out.

"How is that less horrifying?" Mikey wondered.

"It's not, I just like to be accurate." Don replied.

"Lucky us." Raph groaned.

Splinter's ears picked something up. "My sons, wait! Something else is approaching us."

The Turtles gathered closer together with their father as the Bending-Mutants slowly approached them.

"Something else?" Raph questioned. "We got a bunch of bending monsters ready to eat us! What could possibly come our way next?!"

Right when he said that, a door opened behind them as a silloutes of a humanoid slowly walked out of the shadows. If their eyes weren't wide with horror before, they would be now.

It was not a mutant but rather a cyborg. Its body was that of a man with a mix of flesh and robotics as half its chest appeared to be made out of metal with a metal-spine protruding out of its back. Its right arm was entirely robotic as we're both its legs. But what was unsettling was its face, with long black hair, half of the skin on its face appeared peeled off to reveal a cybernetic skeleton with a red eye; but it was the side of the face _with_ the flesh that caused everyone to gasp as they recognized it immediately.

"Ozai?!" Leo exclaimed.

It was true, the recently deceased Fire Lord Ozai stood in front of them, his entire body converted into that of a cyborg as his red robotic eye lit up.

"But… but I thought Ozai was dead!" Raph exclaimed

"I think he still is." Don whimpered.

"What sort of abomination is this?!" Splinter questioned.

"My best guess. The Foot must have reanimated his corpse as a cyborg that they can remote control." Don guessed.

"Okay…" Mikey breathed. "Now I'm officially freaked out!"

All five heroic mutants circled up as the Cyborg-Ozai and Bending Mutants slowly approached them with deadly intent.

* * *

Karai and Team Avatar walked down the hall and came toward a large double-door with the insignia of the Foot on it. Aang stopped in front of it.

"Whatever the source of the energy is, it's behind this door."

"Toph, are you sure you cannot feel anything beyond it?" Karai asked the young Earthbender.

"I know its weird but it feels like an empty void." Toph responded.

"I still think we should turn back." Katara pointed out.

"Yeah, I agree that's probably a better option." Zuko agreed.

"Guys we've come this way, we should at least see what's behind it." Sokka told them.

"We're not on the clock for exploring, Sokka." Suki told him. "Hey Karai, do you know what this is?"

"No." Karai answered honestly. "I never set foot in this place, during my time in this world, I spent a majority of it in the Fire Nation capital before Zuko and I left to join you."

"Hey, are we gonna talk all day or open this damn thing!?" Toph questioned.

"I still don't like this." Katara said.

Aang looked toward the door. "I have to know. Let's go." He opened the door and everyone stepped in.

The place they stepped in had an eerie feeling to it as this was the mystical shrine where five certain individuals dwelled in. Team Avatar looked around with there own expressions of awe and surprise.

"Oh wow." Katara breathed. "Look at this place."

"Yeah." Aang looked around. "The energy I felt, this is definitely the source."

"Got that right Twinkle Toes." Toph agreed. "I can tell because this place is seriously messing with my feet. The ground here feels different."

Zuko breathed in the air. "The air feels different to."

"You're right, Zuko." Suki felt it. "It feels both thin and thick."

Sokka's expression was one of complete and utter stupefaction. "Okay… what kind of place is this?! Seriously, there has got to be some kind of scientific explanation for something like this! But what is it?!"

"Not science Sokka." Karai said as she recognized this place. "This is a place of dark and ancient magic."

Zuko saw the expression on Karai's face; an expression of fear. This surprised Zuko, as he had never seen Karai openly afraid before. "Karai?"

"We must leave, now!"

"What… Karai?" Katara questioned.

"No time! We must go!" Right as she said that however, the door suddenly slammed shut on its own.

"What the?!" Toph questioned as Sokka ran to the door and tried to pry it open along with Suki.

"It's locked up!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Karai, where are we?" Aang asked the kunoichi.

"A place we should never have gone." Karai told him as everyone listened. "We must find a way out now! This is a trap!"

"Indeed it is." A new voice spoke up.

Everyone looked toward the sound of five individuals laughing; it came from the altar that was built into the monetary. Upon the staircase where five pedestals stood, five figures began to form. In the middle a stream of liquid metal formed to create the Mystic Metal Ninja; on the upper left rose a mound of dirt and mud, forming the Mystic Earth Ninja; on the upper right shot a stream of fire which cleared to reveal the Mystic Fire Ninja; on the lower left, a small twister formed to reveal the Mystic Wind Ninja; and finally on the lower right a sphere of water rose and took the form of the Mystic Water Ninja.

Aang, Zuko, Toph, Katara, Sokka, and Suki each looked with their own expressions of shock and surprise.

"What the hell?!" Zuko questioned.

"Call me crazy, but did I just feel five guys pop up out of nowhere?!" Toph questioned as well.

"Who… what… what are these things?!" Katara exclaimed.

"The Foot Mystics." Karai answered.

"'The Foot _WHAT!?_ '" Sokka comically exclaimed.

"Mystics." Karai began to explain as she glared at them. "Ancient beings who each posses the ability to control one of the five elements."

"Wait… _five_ elements?!" Suki questioned. "There are only four!"

"Not in my world." Karai continued. "Each of the mystics controls one of the five: Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, and Metal."

"Uh Karai… Metal is just a form of purified Earth." Toph pointed out.

"Tell that to them." Karai responded.

"So… are these guys like benders?" Katara asked.

"Don't insult us!" The Fire Mystic exclaimed.

"Indeed." The Metal Mystic continued. "To compare us to the likes of you, who only posses a fraction of what your elements are capable of is the equivalent of comparing a river to a mighty ocean!"

"Our power is far superior to yours." The Earth Mystic stated. "Beyond anything your human minds can fathom."

Aang's eyes slowly widened as he only just now realized it. Their voices, their appearances, he's seen them before. "Wait… I know these guys!"

This surprised the rest of Team Avatar, as well as Karai. "What?" Zuko questioned. "You know them?!"

"Aang what are you talking about?" Katara asked.

The young Avatar began to explain. "Before we invaded the Fire Nation back at the Day of Black Sun, I was having those nightmares, remember? Well one of those dreams, just before the Invasion, I was fighting these guys! At first I thought they we're just part of my dream but now…"

"That was no dream Avatar." Karai explained. "The Mystics do not just control the elements, they posses multiple forms of dark magic. They we're no doubt attempting to destroy your mind."

"Indeed." The Wind Mystic confirmed. "We needed to learn more of this world. And what better way to know it, then to look inside the mind of the one who is supposed to protect it?"

"But of course, we needed to distract your mind to mask our presence." The Water Mystic continued. "So we instilled nightmares into you. Children are always so easily frightened, especially when shouldered with such heavy responsibilities."

Aang's fists clenched as he glared at his new enemy. "I beat you guys before, I can do it again!"

"And this time, Aang's not alone!" Katara said as she, Sokka, Zuko, Suki, and Toph stood by him, along with Karai.

"Do not underestimate them." Karai warned. "There is more to their power than meets the eye."

The Mystics hovered off their pedestals and slowly descended around the young warriors. The five of them surrounded our heroes as they each readied themselves.

"Be prepared for anything and everything." Karai told them.

Everyone prepared for battle as the Mystics gave hard glares. The Fire Mystic glared toward Zuko, the Water Mystic to Katara, the Earth Mystic to Toph, the Metal Mystic to both Sokka and Suki, and the Wind Mystic to Aang. They each pointed their staffs forward and shot red, aqua, brown, blue, and white lighting-like energy beams at the youngsters. They we're unable to block it as the energy blasts sent them flying back toward the wall where the entrance once was.

Sokka groaned. "Okay… Magic elemental stuff and colored lightning? Really starting to think science hates us right now." He and everyone else gave a gasp as the Mystics descended upon them.

* * *

 _Outside_

The war still continued as Iroh shot a powerful lightning attack that blasted a hole clean through one Foot Mech suit, destroying it in one shot. He then propelled himself upward with fire from his feet to get a good view of three more about to fire at him before he brought his hands together and shot a massive fire-ball directly at the Mechs, causing them explode upon contact.

Jeong-Jeong soared up next to him as he shot fire-streams directly into the air at the incoming Foot Razor Jets and helicopters. The helicopters we're easily shot down upon how slow they moved, but he had trouble with the much smaller and quicker Razor Jets and had to fly away along with Iroh to avoid getting shot by their energy blasts.

Bumi punched a hole into the ground and sent an earth-platform up from the ground that launched both Leatherhead and Traximus directly at two Foot Mech suits. Leatherhead went full-animal-mode as he tore up the cockpit, and the unfortunate Foot soldier inside; while Traximus used his own axe for essentially the same thing. Bumi also shot a large earth-pillar from the ground directly at an incoming mech-suit.

Pakku provided cover for Piando, a couple of Guardians, Freedom Fighters, and Kyoshi warriors with a water-barrier to avoid getting shot by several razor jets flying toward them. Long Shot took out his bow-and-arrow and shot a precise arrow directly into the engine of one passing Razor Jet, causing it to fall on the ground and crash some distance away

As the war below continued; Appa soared the red skies directly for the Foot-Carrier. April held the reigns as she saw the flying fortress' weapons pointing in their direction. "Okay everyone, hang on!"

Guns and missiles we're shot at the Sky-Bison but Appa was far too quick and nimble as every shot missed. Appa flew directly underneath the Foot Carrier's belly at high speeds before coming up the starboard side and flying directly toward the deck where several Foot soldiers we're lined up with bows and arrows.

Appa was able to swipe his tail to create a powerful airwave to blast off the Foot ninja and send them falling off the Foot Carrier's deck right as the mighty Sky-Bison landed. April got off, followed by Mai, Casey, Ty-Lee, Hakoda, and Professor Honeycutt.

The group quickly ran to the door that would lead them inside, and Honeycutt got to work on the console. "I should have this unlocked in a just a moment…"

"We don't have time for that!" Mai interrupted as she ran to the door and kicked it down.

"That works to." Ty-Lee said with a smile.

"Come on, let's go." Hakoda led them inside.

* * *

The Elite Ninja we're in the control room along with the Foot technicians as they continued to watch the war play out below them. They heard a few noises coming from the door, causing them to turn around. The door suddenly burst open as sevral unconscious Ninja we're thrown in. Everyone looked to see a certain group standing at the doorway.

"Yo! We got an order for an ass-whooping right here!" Casey called out. "Who else wants some!?"

The Elite Ninja we're on the attack as they leaped forward.

"We got this Professor, do your thing." April told him as she, Casey, Hakoda, Ty-Lee, and Mai clashed with the Foot Elite.

Honeycutt quickly ran to the controls where several technicians we're alarmed at his presence. "Gentleman, if you would be so kind as to step aside?"

The technician's each pulled out a gun and pointed them toward the Fugitoid, who responded with electrical tasers from his hands and shocked them all into unconsciousness. Honeycutt then stepped toward one control console where his fingers converted into data-drives, which he plugged in and began hacking, evident by the numbers that we're appearing in his eyes.

"Hacking in now."

"Yeah, take your sweet time." Mai said sarcastically as she avoided an axe-slice from one Elite Ninja.

* * *

 _Genetics Lab_

Mikey tried to bat away the water-tentacles from the Amphibian-Mutant with his nunchucks, but so far he was on the defensive end. As the monster lashes out all its tentacles at Mikey, he rolled out of the way as the dented the wall. Mikey stuck out his tongue.

"Your aim stinks dude!"

The creature hissed as it slithered toward him at intense speeds with ice at the tips of its tentacles, and Mikey was barley able to avoid them as he ducked.

"Okay, shutting up now." He criticized himself before cartwheeling away with the Amphibian-Mutant slithering after him.

Don meanwhile was trying to slam his staff at the Rock-Mutant, but it brought its rock covering to the front of its body to block Don's attack. Don tried to pole-vault over him, but the creature could hear his movements, despite not having any eyes, and concentrated all its rock on its defensive back to block Don's attack again, much to his surprise. A series of rock fists we're created as they tried to smash on Don, but he moved out of the way on time.

"Okay, close combat not a good idea against this guy." Don noted. However, the rocks around the mutant all formed around him like a boulder as it rolled quickly toward Don who ran away from it as fast as he could.

At the same time, Raph jumped and ducked out of the way of the fire-breath that the Dragon-Mutant shot toward him from its mouth, as it was airborne due to its flame wings. As Raph flipped over and over to avoid the fire attacks, he was getting sick of simply evading so he jumped on the wall and jumped further directly at the Dragon-Mutant tackling it out of the air and right onto the hard ground.

Raph was about to impale its head, but the creature spat more fire from its mouth, forcing Raph to jump off. The Dragon-Mutant got back up and slashed its claws at Raph who was forced to use his sais for defense.

During all of this, both Leo and Master Splinter found themselves glaring at the Cyborg-Ozai who maintained a cold and emotionless expression on its face. As Leo unsheathed his swords and Splinter took a combat stance. The Cyborg-Ozai's robotic arm produced a long whip which was coated in electricity, while from its flash hand a long blade slowly crept out of his knuckles, the blade lit on fire shortly after.

Leo was the first to attack as he swung his swords at Cyborg-Ozai, who blocked all his attacks with his fire-blade. As Leo kept up the assault up front, Splinter jumped from behind and landed a solid kick, pushing Cyborg-Ozai toward Leo who impaled him with his sword. However, much to Leo's shock, Cyborg-Ozai was still standing. Leo quickly pulled his sword out and saw the flesh part of where he stabbed quickly healed.

"Oh, that's not good." Leo said as the Cyborg-Ozai snapped his electrical whip at Leo, forcing him to jump back.

Master Splinter then jumped in front of Cyborg-Ozai and laid a series of punches and kicks to knock back the reanimated abomination. It slamed hard into the wall, but refused to fall down as it straightened itself up and shot a powerful laser beam from his cybernetic eye. Splinter was able to duck and avoid it, but he could still feel the heat from it. Splinter jumped back once more, as did Leo, to avoid the eye-beams shot their way.

As Leo landed, he saw the situation his brothers we're all in. "We should have gone with Aang."

* * *

 _Mystic Shrine_

"We should have gone with Leo." Aang uttered as he, Karai, Zuko, Toph, Katara, Suki, and Sokka glared at the Foot Mystics before they charged directly at their enemy.

Katara formed water-whips around her arms and snapped her right whip at the Water Mystic, however the whip passed right through him as his body seemed to be made entirely out of water.

"What?" Katara questioned before freezing some of her water and launching the ice at the Water Mystic, only to yield the same results. The Water Mystic's body converted into water as it turned into a powerful stream and slammed hard into Katara, forcing her hard to the ground.

"What are these guys?! We can't even touch them!" She exclaimed as she struggled to get up.

Karai and Suki clashed their respective swords against the staff wielded by the Metal Mystic and struggled as their weapons locked. During the struggle, Sokka gave a high-pitched yell as he tried to land a dramatic kick in the neck area of the Metal Mystic, but only felt hard metal on his foot, which hurt like hell.

"OW!" Sokka yelled as he held his foot. "That's not entirely true." He responded to his sister's statement.

The Metal Mystic's armor began to shift from a solid metal to a liquid one as several sharp projectiles shot outward toward the three sword-wielders, forcing them on the defensive end as they tried to defend themselves against the onslaught.

The Fire Mystic produced a flame in his hand, which he launched toward Zuko, who rolled out of the way to avoid the explosive results. As he landed, he sent a fire-fist directly at the Fire Mystic, who responded by twisting his own body in flame to absorb the fire attack from Zuko and sending an even more powerful wave of flame at the scared prince, who looked in shock at this use of fire.

Zuko had no choice but to propel himself straight upward with fire from his feet to avoid the blast. Once he was directly above the Fire-Mystic he tired to land an axe-kick directly onto his head, but the Fire Mystic's body evaporated in flame, causing Zuko to miss and hit the ground. The Fire Mystic's body reformed above Zuko as he thrusted his staff down at him with a powerful fire blast. Zuko responded with a point-blank fire attack, as the two attacks collided, it created a powerful explosion that shook much of the area.

Aang backed a bit as the Wind Mystic ascended into the air before a massive tornado formed around his body, which quickly surged toward Aang, who created an air-shield around him for defense. As the twister and shilled collided, a powerful whirlwind formed in between the two and Aang was clearly struggling. Aang's shield lost as he was blown back by the powerful air-blast, but quickly got back on his feet.

"I'll give you guys credit." Aang said. "You're a lot harder to fight in real life."

"We told you that you we're dealing with forces beyond your comprehension." The Wind Mystic replied as it sent a powerful whirlwind attack from his staff toward Aang, who tried to gain some distance on his Air-Scooter.

Toph found herself face-to-face with the Earth Mystic. She made a stance as she glared at him.

"You think you're tough?!" Toph challenged. "You're just a wannabe Earthbender going against the greatest in the world!"

She coated both her fists in rocks as she laid a powerful punch, which actually seemed to obliterate the Earth Mystic's body made out of clay and dirt. However, another mound of clay and dirt formed from behind her and quickly reformed the Earth Mystic's body. Toph's feet could feel this as her dull eyes shook.

"Wait… what?"

"Spiteful child." The Earth Mystic spoke. "I shall show you true mastery of the Earth!"

He raised his staff and drove it into the ground, creating a powerful tremor, which blasted the ground below Toph into pieces, sending her flying and screaming in the air as she landed hard on the ground. She quickly got up and stepped hard to send a powerful earth-wave directly at the Earth Mystic, who responded by using his staff to create a large fist made out of earth from the ground, which punched through Toph's attack and sent her flying back once more.

Katara backed up the stairs of the monetary as the Water Mystic sent a steam of water at Katara from his staff, which she caught with her Waterbending and froze it into multiple ice-blades, which she sent at the Water Mystic. Just like before, they passed through him, as his body seemed like it was made entirely out of water.

"Impressive." The Water Mystic granted. "For a human, you have quite the drive. It's only a shame you choose to ignore us and abandoned your revenge."

This caused Katara to look in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh. You don't recognize me? Perhaps this will help." The Water Mystic's body began to shift as it took the form of Kya, as she was in the Western Air Temple, causing Katara's pupils to shrink.

"Mom?"

"You are quite the slow learner, aren't you?" The Water Mystic, disguised as Kya, with her voice, spoke to her.

Katara them remembered after her encounter with Yon-Rha, how the spirits of her mother and Yoshi came to her in her dreams and told her that dark magic had influenced her at the Western Air Temple. She was then struck with realization.

"It was you." Katara's face turned into one of anger. "You we're at the Air Temple! You tried to turn me against my friends!"

The disguised Kya reverted back to the true form of the Water Mystic. "Indeed. We sensed the darkness in your heart, the hatred you had for Zuko and Karai, as well as the one for the man who took your mother from you. Hate and anger are often easily manipulated. If your strings we're pulled right, you would have slain the Avatar."

That drove a steak in Katara's heart. "No… I wouldn't… I would never…"

"You struck Leonardo, didn't you?" The Water Mystic recalled. "I can see the darkness in you. You claim to fight for others, yet deep inside, you are no different than the likes of those who slain your mother. Imagine how she'd feel if she saw you like that."

Katara's heart felt like it was about to break. Not only did these monsters manipulate her and insult her mother, but also they tried to turn her against her friends, against Aang, the one that she loved. Tears welled up in her eyes as anger took over. She gave a yell as she angrily ran towards the Water Mystic.

He took advantage of her anger and sent more water from his spear, which completely encased Katara in a water sphere. She couldn't breath or punch her way out, she couldn't think clearly enough to bend the water as the Water Mystic tried to drown her.

The Fire Mystic shot a powerful flame attack at Zuko, which he was unable to block as the force from the attack blasted him back to the wall. Toph found herself stuck on defense with her own element for once as the Earth Mystic laid a relentless onslaught of boulders and rock-fists at her, and her wall was close to breaking. The Metal Mystic sent a stream of liquid metal from his staff directly at Karai, Sokka, and Suki as they tried to jump back to avoid the metal that solidified into spikes and nearly shredded them.

Aang avoided an air-blade from the Wind Mystic as he saw the situation his friends we're in. They we're loosing.

"It's hopeless, Avatar." The Wind Mystic told him. "Your friends will not survive this, and neither will you."

Aang's eyes flashed with an inner fire as he remembered how he was the master of all the elements, and during his time with Guru Pahtik, he remembered how all the elements we're connected to each other. Each element had its own weakness.

"It's never hopeless!" Aang stated as he got on his Air-scooter and flew away from the Wind Mystic.

As he rode toward the trapped Katara and quickly used his own Waterbending to free Katara and catch her bridal-style. He dropped her off safely by the door as she tried to catch her breath and watch him ride back into the battle. Aang quickly formed an Air-Sphere in his hands as he rode round; first he pulled in Zuko before he could get fried, then Karai, Suki, and Sokka before they we're impaled, and finally Toph before she could be crushed.

He quickly dropped them off by Katara near the door. "You guys stay here. I can handle this."

"What… Aang wait!" Sokka tried to call him, but he was already running toward the Mystics.

"Come on we gotta help him!" Suki tried to run after him, but Karai blocked her way. "Karai?"

"He knows what he is doing." She said as she and the others could only watch the battle to come.

Aang stood in the middle as all five Foot Mystics hovered above him.

"So, you stand against us yet again, Avatar." The Fire Mystic observed. "Do not think this will be like last time."

"Actually, it will be." Aang said with determination. He turned to the Water Mystic. "I heard what you said to Katara! How dare you use her mother's image to manipulate her!"

"You only have her to blame." The Water Mystic stated.

"Her will is weak." The Metal Mystic added. "It seems you are ignorant to her dark side, as well as that within all of humanity."

"It is the nature of human-kind to hate and oppress, to plunder and kill." The Earth Mystic said.

"Young Katara was no exception." The Wind Mystic continued. "We saw her inner hatred and brought it to the surface."

Everyone else heard this as Katara looked down in shame while Zuko, Karai, Sokka, Suki, even Toph looked toward her in sympathy.

"You don't know anything." Aang told the Mystics, causing everyone to look at him. "Humans are full of love and compassion. Sure there are plenty of bad people out there, but not everyone is like that! I exist to maintain balance, and no matter who it is or their intentions, I will be there to help all those in need and stop all those who seek to hurt others for their own gain; like you and the Shredder!"

"Naïve child! Prepare to taste true power!" The Fire Mystic decaled as he shot a blast of flame from his staff.

The other Mystics followed in kind as the Water Mystic shot a steam of water from his staff, the Wind Mystic shot a mini-tornado from his staff, the Earth Mystic shot a stream of clay and dirt from his staff, and the Metal Mystic blasted a stream of liquid metal from his staff.

Aang took to the air with is Airbending to avoid the attacks as he flew directly up and landed behind the Metal Mystic.

"Fire melts Metal!" Aang shouted as he shot a powerful stream of fire directly at the Metal Mystic, melting him to the point where he was nothing but a puddle of bubbling liquid steel.

The Water Mystic tried to shoot a steam of water at Aang, but he caught it with his Waterbending.

"Water douses Fire!" Aang brought the water down onto of the Fire Mystic and encased him in a bubble. In less than two seconds, the Fire Mystic's body was reduced to nothing more than steam.

Aang then jumped to avoid a combined attack from the remaining three Mystics as he landed behind the Water Mystic.

"Earth absorbs Water!" Aang dug his hands into the ground and began to twist them to create a hole underneath the Water Mystic, which he then began to convert into a whirlpool of dirt that completely absorbed the Water Mystic into it till he became nothing more than mud.

Aang then used his Air-Scooter to shoot directly at the Earth Mystic. He formed small but powerful air-spheres in his hands and punched them both directly into the Earth Mystic's body.

"Air scatters Earth!" Aang increased the air-spheres in the Earth Mystic's body till they exploded and scattered the Earth Mystic's clay body all over the area. Aang then turned around to the only remaining Mystic as he backed away nervously.

"And even the Wind can be set ablaze!" Aang twisted his hands to create a tornado that encompassed the Wind Mystic, but before the enemy could do anything, Aang used Firebending to light the entire tornado on fire, turning it into a vortex of wind and flame. He yelled as he slammed the vortex down onto the ground, causing an explosion that took out the final Mystic.

Everyone who was watching could only look with expressions of awe, surprise, and amazement. Sokka was the first to voice it as he audiblly cheered Aang.

"AW YEAH! GO AANG! AIRBENDING SLCIE!" Sokka cheered.

"WAHOO! YOU GO TWINKLE TOES!" Toph cheered as well.

"He did it." Katara smiled.

"Hold on a minute guys." Suki spoke up. "Why isn't Aang celebrating?"

They all saw him with his back to them, as he fell to his knees. "I understand." Zuko spoke up.

"What?" Sokka asked.

"I think just killed them." Zuko responded, causing everyone to look in surprise, save for Karai. "You remember that argument we had before, about him taking a life?"

Everyone seemed to get it as happy expressions shifted to one of sympathy, especially Katara who could only hold her hands over her heart.

"Aang."

Karai was the first to slowly walk to the kneeling Avatar as he looked at his hands with shaky eyes.

"What did I just do?" He spoke aloud. "They we're evil, no doubt but… did… did I just… kill them?"

Karai placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. "No, you did not."

Aang looked toward Karai in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Aang, the Mystics aren't alive in the same sense that you and I are." Karai began. "They are physical manifestations of the elements infused with dark magic. They have no blood, no hearts, nothing of that nature."

Aang felt a sense of relief as he heard from a friend that he didn't kill anyone. "That's good."

Everyone else walked up. "So wait, they're not dead?" Toph asked.

"No." Karai answered. "Aang may have stopped them, but they will rise again eventually."

Everyone looked to her in surprise. "Even after what Aang just did to them?" Suki questioned.

"As I said, they are physical manifestations of dark magic, they are living energy." Karai explained. "Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, just changed from one form to another."

"Okay, how exactly did Shredder get his hands on something like this?" Sokka questioned out loud.

Karai had a serious look on her face. "Follow me." She walked up the stairs of the monastery with Team Avatar following her. Within the monastery we're five flags, each one baring the Foot symbol, just modified slightly to represent the elements. Karai walked toward the center flag as she used her sword to slice it and reveal a tiny chamber with a crystal pendant on top of an alter.

"What is that?" Zuko asked.

"It is called the Heart of Tengu." Karai answered. "My father found it many years ago. This is what binds the Mystics to his service. A powerful spell lays upon it that prevents the Mystics from touching it."

"Binds them to his service?" Aang repeated. "So, they're his slaves?"

"Yes." Karai confirmed with a nod.

"So, what do we do then?" Katara asked honestly.

Aang looked at the Heart of Tengu for a brief moment before he became serious. He formed a fireball on his hand, which he threw at the crystal, causing it to shatter, much to the surprise of his friends.

"There." Aang said. "They we're his slaves, but now they're free."

"You freed them?!" Sokka angrily questioned. "After what they tried to do to us?!"

"I know, they're bad guys, they're evil. I get that." Aang acknowledged. "But Shredder is the greater evil, and no one deserves to be a slave to someone like him."

"And what happens if they come back to 'thank us' by trying to kill us again?" Toph questioned.

"We'll figure that out later." Aang said. "Right now, Shredder is our top priority."

"Aang's right." Zuko said. "I don't know about freeing these Mystic-guys, but Shredder is the bigger threat."

"And by destroying the Heart of Tengu, my father can no longer control them. This takes a powerful weapon out of his hadns." Karai added.

Katara looked toward Aang "Aang, are you sure?"

Aang nodded. "I'm sure."

Not too long after that, the whole Mystic Shrine slowly began to fade away as it reverted back to the Crystal chambers beneath Ba-Sing-Se that Zuko and Katara we're once imprisoned in.

"What happened?" Suki asked.

"The crystal is destroyed, so is the cage that bound the Mystics to my father's will." Karai answered.

"Well I'm not sure what that means, but my feet can feel where we are again!" Toph joyously exclaimed. "Oh, and good news! I know where Shredder is!"

"Seriously?!" Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Suki questioned at the same time.

"Yep. I can feel him and a bunch of his buddies not far from here." Toph said with a smile. "Lets go pay bucket-head a visit."

"What about Master Splinter and the others?" Zuko wondered.

Karai tapped onto her comns. "Dr. Chaplin, do you read me?"

" _Karai, where we're you?!"_ Chaplin asked frantically. _"I completely lost contact with you! Are you okay?!"_

"I'm fine." Karai told him. "We had an encounter with the Mystics, but everything is alright now."

Chaplin's sigh of relief could be heard from the other side of the comns. _"That's good to hear."_

"Where are the Turtles?" Karai asked.

" _Surveillance footage shows they just finished up what was holding them and are mmoving directly for Shredder. If you move now, you should catch up to them."_

"Thank you." Karai turned to the group. "The Turtels and Splinter are on their way. Lets catch up with them."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Toph smiled as she and Aang both used their Earthbending to create a tunnel out of the catacombs and ran as fast as they could.

Right as they left however, the transparent figures of the Foot Mystics appeared looking in the direction their unwitting pawns ran to.

" _Thank you… Avatar."_ The Fire Mystic sneered evilly before he and his brothers faded away.

* * *

 _Foot Genetics Lab; several minutes earlier._

Mikey continued to swerve and avoid the relentless onslaught of the Serpent-Mutant and its water tentacles. Mikey ran back towards a control console built onto the side of the wall. He screamed as it lunged at him with a series of ice-projectiles. He desperately flailed his nunchucks to deflect them, but accidentally knocked off a piece of he console, exposing some sparking wires.

The orange-clad Turtle looked to this and smirked as he turned to the Serpent-Mutant. "That all you got? My grandma can shoot better than you!" He stuck out his tongue.

The Serpent-Mutant hissed at that as it sent all its water tentacles at the smirking Mikey, who rolled out of the way just in time as the water tentacles hit the exposed wires. The electricity quickly traveled along the water and directly to the mutant, causing it to yell in agony as it was shocked beyond belief. It stopped as its body smoked for a bit before it fell back in unconsciousness.

"Guess paying attention to Don has its perks." Mikey cracked.

Speaking of Don, no matter how hard he hit, he couldn't land a solid blow on the Rock-Mutant as its body was always protected by its stone-barrier. And as long as its heightened hearing was still in play, there was no way he could get close.

That's when it clicked to Don. "Wait, you can't see but you can hear." Don spoke to the mutant. He smirked. "Guess what? That can also be your greatest disadvantage."

The Rock-Mutant formed a powerful and large rock body with lrge fists as it tried to smash them on Don who rolled out of the way as he took out one of his Shell-Cells and pressed a few buttons, pulled a few wires, and turned up the volume to max.

"Hope you like rock-n-roll!" Don said as he pressed the play button and batted the phone at the Rock-Mutant. Right as it played, intense rock music played at an intense and maxed out volume. The soundwaves hit the mutant's ears directly, forcing the creature to yell as it used its skiny hands to cover its ears.

"Gotcha!" Don exclaimed as he jumped up and used this distraction to his advantage. He slammed his staff hard across the exposed head of the frail mutant, knocking it out instantly.

Don smirked at his victory. "Science, don't ever fail me."

At the same time, Raph delivered a kick to the Dragon-Mutant's side, knocking it back. But the creature recovered and tried to slice at Raph with his claws, but the Red-clad Turtle rolled underneath him and leaped onto his back.

"Come on big guy, let's go for a ride!" Raph challenged as he covered the mutant's eyes so it couldn't see. It started to act rabid and wild without its sight, almost like a mad bull.

Raph gave a 'ye-ha' cry at this makeshift rodeo as he pulled on the Dragon-Mutant's head, forcing to run at intense speed directly toward a wall. Raph jumped off in time as the mutant slammed face-first into the unforgiving wall, which sent a tremor up to the ceiling where debris fell onto of it, knocking it out cold.

"Best rodeo ever." Raph cracked.

However, Leo and Splinter found themselves struggling greatly at the hands of Cyborg-Ozai. Leo used his swords solely for defense against Cyborg-Ozai's flame-blade and electric whip. Master Splinter tried to come in from behind, butt he cyborg's head turned a full 180 degrees and shot its laser eye at Splinter, blasting him back to the wall on the far side.

"Master Splinter!" Leo exclaimed in worry, this left him open as Cyborg-Ozai swept his right robotic leg at Leo to send him flying.

The cyborg's victory was short lived as it heard a "COWABUNGA!" Mikey rode on a examination table on wheels and slammed it into the cyborg, sending it crashing to the wall. Before it could recover, Raph fell down sais first from the ceiling, impaling it in the back. Don then came in and slammed his staff across its face just as Mikey did the same with his nunchucks. But the cyborg used its inhumane agility to jump up, taking Raph with him.

He flipped and fell on his back, with Raph taking the brunt of it. Raph fell off and Cyborg-Ozai kicked him right at Mikey and Don, knocking them both back. But all three Turltes got up and charged at the monstrosity with their weapons.

Leo got up and helped his father up. "Master Splinter, are you okay?"

Splinter groaned slightly. "Yes, but this abomination must be destroyed. We cannot waste any more time."

Leo nodded. "You're right. Keep it busy, I'll handle the rest."

"Very well." Master Splinter got up and leapt back at the battle.

Cyborg-Ozai snapped his electric-whip at Don, ensnaring his staff and sending an electric current at Don. Mikey tried to come in from the side but the cyborg shot its laser eye at him before pulling back his whip and snapping Mikey back. Raph charged in next with a neck-slash, but the cyborg's flesh quickly healed as it pulled back its flame blade and swung down on Raph who quickly blocked it with his sais as the two struggled against each other.

Master Splinter gave a yell as he landed a kick on Cyborg-Ozai's chest. The two exchanged eye contact before charging forward. Splinter stayed close so his whip and eye beam would be useless as he parried the punches and sword-slashes of the cyborg.

While Splinter kept it distracted, Leo put on the metal glove and unsheathed the Sword of Tengu as it lit with power. He quickly ran towards the fight.

Splinter threw a punch, but Cyborg-Ozai caught it with his fist before blasting him with a point-blank eye beam to blast Splinter back. Mikey, Don, and Raph gasped as they saw Cyborg Ozai pin its right foot on Splinter's chest.

"No! Master Splinter!" Raph exclaimed.

"Get back!" Don yelled.

"Look out!" Mikey yelled as well.

Cyborg-Ozai raised his flame blade, ready for the finishing blow. However, Leo's yell caught its attention. Right as its head turned…

 ***SLASH!***

Leo slid past the Cyborg Ozai with the Sword of Tengu in hand. Less than a second later, Cyborg-Ozai's head fell clean off. The body fell backwards on the ground as a mixture of blood and an oil-like substance fell out of the neck opening.

Leo put back the Sword of Tengu as he helped his father to his feet. Raph, Don, and Mieky joined him.

"You really got a thing for the head-slicing there bro." Raph joked, referring to the time when Leo decapitated Shredder back at the Foot HQ. Leo smirked in amusment.

"Nice one Leo." Mikey high-fived him.

"Yeah, real perfect timing." Don congratulated.

"Thanks guys, but we're not done yet." Leo said seriously.

"Agreed." Splinter said. "The Shredder is still active, and we must stop him."

"What about Aang and the others?" Mikey asked.

"I got a feeling we'll meet them later." Leo replied to his youngest brother. "Lets just hope we all get to Shredder at the same time."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Raph questioned. "Time to shut Shredder down once and for all!"

With that, the Turltes and Master Splinter ran through the door that was their exit and would lead them directly to their mortal enemy.

* * *

 _Foot Carrier Control Bridge_

Hakoda clashed his sword against the Foot Elite with the double-bladed sword and was stuck on the defensive end, as the Elite Ninja was far quicker than him, he was lucky he didn't get hit yet. He would however receive the help he needed as Casey came in with a baseball bat and golf club in each hand as he forced the Elite back.

"These guys are tough." Hakoda admitted.

"Come on we can take em!" Casey stated as they both fought back against the Elite.

April used her katana to parry the strikes from the Elite wielding the trident as she was forced back against the wall and locked their weapons.

"Uh Professor… not to rush you…. But these guys aren't playing around!" April urged the Fugitoid.

"I'm already in the system." Professor Honeycutt replied as he was still hooked into the controls. "I just need a couple of more minutes."

"Not sure we have a couple more minutes!" Mai exclaimed as she threw her knives against the Elite with the axe as he sliced through all of them and went at Mai with a horizontal strike, forcing her to duck and deliver a cart-wheel kick to get some distance and knock the Elite back.

Ty-Lee, who had no weapon, could only dodge the strikes from the Elite with the spear. He moved too quickly for her to get an opening to block his chi, but she was nimble enough to avoid getting sliced. She cartwheeled over a computer console just as the Elite plunged his spear into it. He jumped over the console after her however.

"Almost…" Professor Honeycutt said as data moved rapidly on the screens all over the control room. "There! I found it!"

"Great!" Mai uttered. "In the meantime, we could use some help!" Mai clasped her hands against the axe of the Elite she was fighting to avoid getting sliced.

"Allow me to assist." Honeycutt began to work his magic as a series of small turrets fell from the ceiling and shot at each of the Elite Ninja, shocking them with electrical blasts before they fell unconscious. This earned a sigh of relief from Hakoda, April, Ty-Lee, Casey, and Mai.

"Thanks professor." Ty-Lee thanked.

"Don't thank me yet." Honeycutt said as he plugged out of the console. "We need to get of this ship."

"What are you talking about?" Hakoda asked.

"I've activated the self-destruct sequence." Honeycutt revealed, much to the surprise of everyone listening.

"You set the whole thing to blow?!" Casey exclaimed. "With all of us inside!?"

"I've set a delayed countdown to provide us time to escape, while at the same time activating the auto-pilot to move the ship far from the city so none of our allies below will get caught in the explosion or any falling debris." The Fugitoid explained.

"Oh…" April looked surprise. "Well.. good work professor."

"We still have to get off this thing." Hakoda pointed out. "How much time do we have?"

"Nine minutes, forty two seconds." Honeycutt answered.

"Then lets get the hell out of here!" Mai exclaimed.

"Right behind you!" Casey and Ty-Lee said at the same time as they all ran out of the control room.

The Foot-Carrier had moved at surprisingly fast speed as the autopilot moved it already passed the Outermost Ring of Ba-Sing-Se and into the outskirts. Five minutes had passed before they we're back up on the deck, where Appa was waiting for them. April got back on the reigns as Honeycutt, Casey, Hakoda, Ty-Lee, and Mai hopped on.

"Four minutes and two seconds till detonation." Honeycutt informed as Appa took off and began to fly away from the Foot-Carrier ad back toward the city.

It seemed like time passed too quickly as Appa flew back over the city and they could only see a small speck of the further distancing Foot-Carrier over a chain of mountains and the Fugitoid made the final countdown.

"Three… Two… One…"

 ***BOOM!***

A massive explosion could be seen from all over the city. It almost looked like a miniature sun was rising. Appa flew at intense speed to escape the shockwave that was coming their way. They just barley made it as the light vanished and the dust cleared, leaving absolutely nothing; several clouds we're blown away, and even a couple of mountain tops we're missing.

The group on Appa looked with wide eyes and open mouths at what they just saw.

"Damn…" Mai breathed.

Casey's face portrayed a loud grin as he gave a mighty cheer. "AH YEAH BABY! THAT'S WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU MESS WITH CASEY JONES AND HIS FRIENDS! YEAH! GOONGALA!"

"Okay… Okay… settle down." Hakoda calmed Casey down, though he was chuckling at Casey's enthusiasm. "We're not done yet though."

"He's right." April agreed. "Lets get back to General Iroh and the others and finish the job."

They came to a silent agreement as Appa flew back to the battlefield.

* * *

Inside the massive chambers, just outside the even larger silo holding the ship, Shredder still stood with his most powerful henchman. Stockman's robotic body received a transmission, and the holographic head of Stockman's eyes portrayed one of horror.

"Uh oh…"

"What is it?" Shredder growled.

"Uh.. Master…." Stockman stuttered. "The Foot-Carrier… has been destroyed."

That caught everyone by surprise. "What?!" Dark Leo questioned. "Our most powerful fortress is gone?!"

"But how?!" Dark Don questioned as well. "That was built from the most advanced of technology! It was impervious to all attacks!"

"Someone hacked into it and activated the self-destruct." Stockman informed. "Not just that though. The enemy forces have already pushed their way deep into the Upper Ring of the city, and our forces are barley holding out!"

"Even with Sozin's Comet enhancing all Firebenders!?" Azula questioned.

"Uh… Yeah."

"Guess Sozin's Comet ain't all it cracked up to be." Dark Raph cracked.

"Yeah, just one lousy Fire-ball." Dark Mikey cracked as well, causing the two Dark Turtles to laugh; but their laugh was cut off as Shredder slapped them both back with one single palm-swipe.

"None of this matters." Shredder spoke up. "How long until we launch?!"

"We're all ready to go, Master." Hun informed. "The genetic tanks and program have all been uploaded into the ship's database."

"Then it's time we take our leave." Hama said.

"Board the ship. We are launching immediately!" Shredder ordered.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!"

Everyone turned to the source of the voice, it was Leonardo, standing alongside Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Master Splinter.

"The Turtles, and their rat!" Hun growled. But before another move was made, the wall next to the door exploded in a pile of rock, courtesy of Aang in an Earthbending stance, standing alongside Katara, Zuko, Sokka, Toph, Karai, and Suki.

The groups made eye contact before turning their attention to Shredder.

"I am not letting you on that ship Shredder! You will not be the end of my world!" Aang declared.

Shredder growled. "I have tolerated your mutant freaks and children for far too long! I made a grave mistake in not exterminating you sooner, a mistake I plan to correct right now! KILL THEM ALL!"

With that; the Turtles, Team Avatar, Splinter, and Karai charged forward against the charging enemy of Shredder, the Dark Turtles, Azula, Hun, Stockman, and Hama and all clashed at the center of the large chamber.

Leo immediately clashed swords against Dark Leo as Raph jumped and kicked back Dark Raph. Azula shot a powerful stream of blue flame at Zuko who responded with his own fire as their flames clashed. Karai jumped over the flames and toward Azula as she swung her blades at her, forcing the princess to duck and avoid them. Mikey parried his nunchucks against the clubs of Dark Mikey while Don faced off against Dark Don, clashing bow-staff against arm-guard. Toph created an earth ramp to propel herself directly at Hun, who readied held a massive club in his hands. Katara created her water whips as she lunged them at the covered-up Hama, who intercepted them with her own Waterbending and threw the attack back at Katara who caught it in response. Sokka and Suki rolled out of the way as Stockman's robotic arms produced laser guns, which opened fire on them.

Aang and Splinter we're both face-to-face with Shredder.

"Shredder, you cannot be allowed to leave this world." Splinter declared. "To wreak havoc across the universe!"

"And I won't let you destroy my world, just so you can get revenge on the Utroms… Ch'rell!" Aang stated.

"What!?" Shredder exclaimed with honest shock as the Avatar addressed him by his Utrom name. "How do you know that name?!"

"I know all about you!" Aang responded. "I know who you are and where you come from!"

"As well my father, Hamato Yoshi, was a Guardian!" Splinter revealed. "He forbids your exodus! And in his name, we shall not allow you passage!"

Splinter clashed his fists against Shredder as Aang joined in with a flaming-wave from his kick to knock Shredder back, but he landed on his hands and flipped back to land on his feet before charging back at them with a yell.

Zuko created a set of fire-whips to parry the blue fire-blasts sent by his sister. "Azula! Listen to me! You're on the wrong side!"

"Shut up!" Azula yelled as she was about to throw another fire-blast at him, but a chain was quickly wrapped around her body, courtesy of Karai from behind, stopping Azula's attack.

"You're brother speaks the truth!" Karai told Azula. "The Shredder has deceived you!"

"Oh Karai… I am going to enjoy silencing you." Azula breathed. "Just so I never have to listen to one of your annoying lectures!" She propelled herself upward via fire-blasts from her feet to break out of the chain that was binding her. She was in the air and fell down with blue flame in both her hands, blasting each flame at Zuko and Karai respectfully as they tried to dodge it.

Leo continued to clash blades against his evil clone. "Are you seriously gonna help Shredder kill billions of lives!?"

"Of course! I don't care about any of that crap!" Dark Leo stated. "None of my brothers do! All I want it is to destroy you and anyone else in my way!" They continued to clash.

Raph, Don, and Mikey found themselves circled up against their respective clones as they approached with deadly intent.

"I would say that this has been fun 'brothers', but it hasn't." Dark Don said.

"It was fun for me!" Dark Mikey laughed.

"But not as fun as its gonna be when we smash your skulls!" Dark Raph exclaimed.

All three Dark Turtles jumped toward them, but the three real Turtles jumped higher into the air, causing all three evil mutants to smack hard into each other. As they groaned, they looked up to see Mikey, Don, and Raph coming down on them with their weapons.

Toph threw multiple boulders at Hun who batted them away with his club. "I've waited a long time for this, you little runt!"

"Feeling's mutual muscle-head!" Toph spat as she made a gesture to bring it on. Hun charged, but Toph used her Metalbending to bend and twist the club to the point where Hun couldn't use it anymore.

Before he could respond; Toph coated her entire body in rock as she propelled herself directly at Hun and smacked him hard in the gut. However, he quickly stabilized himself and smacked both his fists down on her back before kicking her hard to knock the rock armor off. But Toph was able to get back to her feet. Hun cracked his neck a bit as Toph spat out a pebble and smirked.

Suki came in with her katana, but Stockman blocked it with his robotic arm before trying to punch her with his left hand, but it was momentarily stopped by Sokka's boomerang before he came in and smacked his sword on his body, causing Stockman to back up, somewhat dangerously close to the edge of the silo where the starship was. Oddly tough, he was actually laughing.

"Swords and a boomerang? You actually are trying to stop me with those?" Stockman laughed. "How positively primitive."

"Hey! Who you calling primitive!" Sokka took offense to Stockman's statement before charging forward and clashing his sword against Stockman's robotic arms. However this was a distraction as Suki jumped on Stockman from behind.

"What are you doing?" Stockman tried to shake her off.

Suki saw the exposed joint in Stockman's right arm. "This looks important." She thrusted her sword into the exposed joint as Sokka did the same from the front. This resulted in the severing of the joint as the whole right arm fell off.

"My robotic arm! NOOOOO!" Stockman yelled as he twisted his left hand to slap back both Sokka and Suki.

Stockman tried to calm himself down. "It's… it's nothing. Just a… momentary nuisance. My back up…"

He didn't get a chance to finish as Sokka and Suki both ran toward him and jumped to deliver flying kicks to his chest that knocked Stockman down the silo-pit.

"THIS IS JUST A MINOR SETBACK!" Stockman screamed as he fell and landed deep and hard into the pit.

"Not much of a fighter, was he?" Suki guessed.

"And he gives us inventors a bad name." Sokka pointed out.

"Lets help the others." Suki said.

"Right." Sokka agreed.

Katara created an ice-shield to protect herself against Hama's whip as she viciously attacked her. Katara then exploded the ice-shield to break Hama's focus a bit, allowing Katara to run up to her and deliver a punch and kick to knock Hama down.

This only seemed to anger Hama even further. "You little brat! I'm gonna kill you!" She lunged at Katara, but she alreaedy formed a set of ice-claws on her hands as she slashed past Hama.

Katara looked back, but her determined look turned into one of shock, borderline horror, as she saw Hama's body. Her upper clothes and bandages had all but fallen off as Hama's body was both pale and a sickly green; her arms looked like they we're only being held together by poor stitch work and nails, while similar stitches we're seen on her face. Her hair was almost falling off as it became shaggy and grey.

"Hama… I… what… what happened to you?" Katara questioned.

"You happened!" Hama yelled at her.

"What?"

"It was you! Always you from the beginning!" Hama yelled. "If you hadn't come to that Fire Nation village, you wouldn't have stopped me from seeking my revenge! That led me to the Shredder, who turned me into this! But I asked for that, only because you put me in that situation! YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

"You did it to yourself." Katara told her. "I didn't force you into this. I…"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Hama yelled as she quickly threw two water whips at Katara. One wrapped around her body and solidified into ice while the other covered her mouth and also solidified into ice to prevent her from speaking.

"Your voice is like poison to me!" Hama pulled Katara close, who looked quite frightened, but she was able to swipe her unbound feet to knock Hama down. This allowed Katara to use her own Waterbending to break out of Hama's ice-bindings.

Hama tried to get up but quickly fell to her feet as she coughed and hacked a storm, covering her mouth with her hand. She looked and saw some blood on her hands and some coming down from her mouth.

"No…" Hama's eyes trembled. "Not yet… It's too soon! I'm not finished! I can't die before I finish killing her!"

Katara could see it; Hama's mind and body we're both falling apart.

Aang created an air-scooter as he lunged at Shredder and jumped over him to avoid a slice from his claws. As Aang landed behind him, he instantly blew a powerful gust of air from his mouth to send Shredder flying toward Splinter who picked up a metal pole to smack Shredder back.

However Shredder quickly got up and clashed his claws against Splinter's pole. Aang tried to come in from behind, but Shredder heard him coming and swerved out of the way to grab Aang by the back of his head and throw him at Splinter who was able to catch him as the two stood firm against Shredder before clashing again.

Karai swung her swords towards Azula as she backed away and sent several waves of blue flame with her kicks and thrusts, which Karai was able to avoid as she back-flipped. Zuko shot several more fire-fists toward Azula who created a flame-dome to protect herself from the flames. Zuko propelled himself above Azula, shooting flames at her, which she intercepted with her own blue flames as Zuko landed next to Karai.

"I can't get her to listen." Zuko told her

Karai looked back to a control console and got an idea. "Then we will have to show her. Subdue her."

"On it." Zuko charged at Azula and swerved underneath the blue flames shot her way.

Karai got to the console and began to type in several commands. She got in and clicked a link on the screen that read 'security footage'.

Zuko was able to get close to Azula as he wrapped his arms around her body, holding her tight as she struggled to get out. "Let me go!" Azula screamed.

"You need to see something!" Zuko shot a fire-blast from his feet that propelled both him and his sister toward Karai who was able to catch Azula as they both tried to hold her.

"Azula, stop fighting and listen!" Zuko tried.

"I am not listening to _anything_ you have to say!" Azula yelled.

"Then we won't speak, but we will show you." Karai said as she used her free hand to press a command key.

" _Perhaps…"_

The sound of Ozai's voice stopped Azula's struggling as she turned her attention to the screen, though Zuko and Karai still held her just in case. She was being shown the footage of Ozai's bunker during the Day of Black Sun.

" _Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason. You're penalty will be far ste…"_

What happened next caused Azula's eyes to widen and her pupils to shrink. She saw the footage of Shredder stabbing Ozai in the back. She saw her father fall to the ground as Shedder stood over him.

" _Hello Ozai."_

" _Shre… Shredder I… don't… why… I…?"_

" _Look at you. The mighty Fire Lord. You believe yourself to be the leader of a great nation, but you know nothing of true power."_ Azula's eyes continued to waver as she saw the footage of Shredder place his foot on Ozai's throat. _"You've squandered countless resources; believing only your own country's to be necessary. You've choked this entire world with meaningless blood. I assure you I will not make the same mistake. I will use what is left of this world to construct my own empire that will expand countless worlds! I will drain the Fire Nation dry of everything it has before I do the same with the rest of this pitiful planet! Thank you for your help Ozai, but I no longer require your aid. Goodbye."_

Azula's face became pale as she saw the footage of Shredder crushing her father's throat. Karai stopped the footage as she and Zuko let go of Azula who fell to her knees.

"What… I… I don't… I don't understand."

"I didn't kill our father." Zuko said. "Shredder did. He slaughtered everyone else in charge except for you because he wanted to use you as a figurehead, to keep the Fire Nation under his control. You we're his puppet Azula."

"Project Meteoroid is meant to destroy this world, including the Fire Nation." Karai added. "He never had any intention of helping it, to him, the Fire Nation was a means to an end, one he is now ready to discard."

"But… he promised me…" Azula's voice cracked like she was about to cry. "He said if I helped him…"

"He lied to you, he lied to everyone." Zuko told her. He placed a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder. "I'm sorry Azula. But, you should go. Leave, I don't want you caught up in this."

Zuko turned to Karai and they both nodded. They turned around and went back to the battle and left Azula alone as she let this new information sink in.

Hama went absolutely insane with every attack that she laid on Katara who could only block what came her way. Katara found herself backed into a literal corner as the maddened Hama closed in on her. "Your mine… little Katara!"

However before she could make any move, Sokka elbowed Hama back as he held his sword. "Stay away from my sister!"

Suki and Sokka both stood with Katara as they faced the maddened Hama, but looked shocked at the state she was in.

"What happened to her?" Suki asked.

"Her body is falling apart. Probably something went wrong when they cloned her one." Katara guessed.

"At this point, I don't really care." Sokka said. "I won't let her have her way."

Hama's eyes had lost all sense of reason as they conveyed a pure bloodlust as she saw the three youths. She gave a maniacal yell as she bent all the water and ice around her like some form of maniacal armor as she charged forward.

Meanwhile; Aang and Splinter both seemed to go on even par with Shredder as he could block and throw back everything they both threw at him, and more. He kicked Splinter back and slashed toward an incoming Aang to force him back. Shredder then raised his claws as he jumped in the air, ready to slice down Aang, before he made contact however, Karai quickly appeared in front of Aang and blocked Shredder's attack with her swords. Shredder looked in surprise briefly before he was blasted back with a powerful flame attack.

"Zuko! Karai!" Aang exclaimed, happy to see them, as they both joined Aang and Splinter in facing the recovering Shredder.

Shredder glared at the two of them. "Zuko. It's a pity you chose to stand against me. You could have served me well."

"As your puppet?" Zuko questioned. "Like my sister?"

"I won't deny it." Shredder turned to his adoptive daughter. "Karai, after everything I've done for you; raised you, fed you, taught you everything you know, you still betray me?!"

"To save countless innocent lives? Yes." Karai replied. "I have renounced the Foot, and I renounce you, Shredder!"

"So be it, then you will die with all of them!" Shredder declared as he engaged the four in combat.

Hun sent a fist in Toph's gut to send her flying, but while she was in the air, Hun punched her again to send her hurtling to a rock-wall. She landed hard as some blood came out of her mouth and fell on her hands and knees. Hun slowly approached her as he cracked his knuckles.

He chuckled. "It's over you little brat. And you think you're the greatest little earth-runt." He was about to punch her, but Toph created an open rock socket in her right hand, which caught Hun's fist and closed immediately much to his shock.

Toph looked at Hun in the eyes, despite being blind. "I _am_ the greatest Earthbender in the world! Do not EVER forget it!" Toph exclaimed as she used her Earthbending on the wall behind her to send a massive rock-fist at Hun and send him flying to the other side of the lab and through the wall.

Hun struggled a bit. "Aw… crud…" He uttered before falling into unconsciousness.

Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey we're lined up as they face off against their respective clones.

"Were too evenly matched with these guys!" Don observed.

"Gee, you think?" Raph uttered sarcastically.

"We don't have time to play around with them, though." Mikey said in a rare serious moment.

"Your absolutely right Mikey." Leo said. "It's time to end this!" He put on the metal glove as he quickly took out the Sword of Tengu.

Each of the Dark Turltes had his own look of shock and horror as they remembered when Zuko used the Sword on them as well.

"Mommy…" Dark Mikey squeaked.

Leo thrusted the Sword forward to send an energy blast at all four Dark Turtles and send them flying through a wall on the other side of the large lab, knocking all four out almost instantly.

At the same time; Shredder was having a very difficult time against the four opponents he was facing. Zuko shot a powerful fire-blast directly at him and scored a direct hit to knock Shredder down onto the ground where Aang raised a column of earth to send Shredder into the air where Karai and Splinter had both jumped up from the wall next to it. As they fell, Splinter and Karai delivered powerful kicks to send Shredder falling down hard onto the ground at a increased rate and landing hard.

Karai and Splinter landed gracefully alongside Aang and Zuko as they watched Shredder struggle to get up. He growled even further as he couldn't even land a deadly enough blow on them yet.

"Your efforts are futile! I cannot be stopped! I…" Shredder's ranting was cut off as a powerful fist-shaped rock-column erupted from under him to send him smacking into a nearby wall.

"Geeze does this guy ever shut up?" Toph cracked as she joined her friends.

As Shredder tried to get up, he looked upward to see the glaring faces of Aang, Toph, Karai, Splinter, and Zuko, all looking down on them. However, a flash of light caught his attention. He looked a bit past his current enemies to see Leo used the Sword of Tengu to finish off the Dark Turtles and his eyes flashed.

Shredder gave a roar as he exploded his hands outward to knock back all five heroes as he gunned straight for the Turtles. Aang looked and saw what Shedder was doing, causing him to look with wide eyes.

"GUYS! LOOK OUT!"

Aang's warning came a bit too late as the Turtles turned around to see Shredder leaping high into the air and landing in the middle of them. He kicked back Don and Mikey before slapping Raph away. He lunged at Leo and slashed him back with his claws, forcing Leo to drop the Sword.

"NO!" Leo exclaimed as the Turltes recovered while Aang, Splinter, Zuko, Toph, and Karai joined them just in time to see Shredder take up the Sword of Tengu, its energy surged through his armor.

"Yes! The Sword of Tengu! It is mine once more!" Shredder swung his sword to send a powerful energy wave at all nine of the heroes closest to him to send each of them flying backwards and rolling across the ground.

Shredder then gave a mighty and evil laugh as he held the active Sword of Tengu. He looked a bit toward the farthest corner and saw the struggle between Katara, Sokka, Suki, against Hama. He then swung his sword to create antoher powerful energy wave and send it at them.

"KATARA!" Aang screamed as they saw it fly toward them.

Katara heard Aang call her name as she looked to see the attack coming their way. Sokka saw it coming to and tackled his sister and girlfriend out of the way just before it hit.

Hama was not so lucky as it hit dead on. She screamed as her already fragile body was torn up by the intense power of the Sword of Tengu. It completely fell apart and turned to dust almost instantly, leaving nothing more than ash of Hama, ending her.

Everyone had his or her own expressions of shock and horror at that. Shredder's look remained unphased as he gave an evil look to all his enemies. "You are all next!" He flashed his sword one more time.

Azula's mind was racing as she let everything she learned sink in. While on the ground, she now knew the truth. Shredder had murdered her father, lied to her and manipulated her, tricked her into attacking her brother, and even gave a hollow promise to rule the world when really he was just destroying it. Azula followed Shredder because she both feared and admired him. He was the first person to ever beat her one-on-one. After her father died, her sense of admiration toward him almost deluded her into seeing her as a father figure, however all that had vanished.

Azula heard a flash and weakly turned her devastated face to see Shredder using the Sword of Tengu to blast back the Turltes, Team Avatar, Splinter and Karai.

The second she saw Shredder, her eyes flashed as a new emotion swept on her. It was rage. She stood up and had a look on her face that made her previous look toward Zuko look completely passive.

Leo and Karai tried to slash at Shredder, but he sent a wave of energy to blast them both back. Sokka, Suki, and Splinter tried to come in from the right side as Don, Mikey, and Raph came in from the right but Shredder spun himself to create a circular wave to blast them back to. Aang, Katara, Zuko, and Toph stood together as they sent a combined attack of air, water, fire, and earth directly at him, but Shredder thrusted the Sword of Tengu further as it blasted their attack away and all of them back.

"Fools! All of you!" Shredder exclaimed. "Your pathetic techniques are nothing compared to the power I now wield! You cannot stop me! No one can!"

"SHREDDER!"

Everyone looked up as they, even Shredder, saw in surprise Azula high in the air with powerful blue flames in her hand, and a look of pure anger and hate in her eyes.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Azula yelled as she sent a massive blue fireball at Shredder, who used the Sword of Tengu to blast it away, creating an explosion.

This gave the heroes an opportunity to get some distance as they each looked in their own expressions of surprise as they saw Azula standing on a piece of rubble, facing Shredder.

"I was expendable to you!" Azula yelled. "Just like my father! Just like everyone else! You planned all of this, _all of it_ , right from the start! YOU USED ME!"

"Of course I did." Shredder said, knowing she likely found out about his deception. "I've taken all the Fire Nation had to offer me, which wasn't that much. You are nothing more than my tool, a weapon to be thrown away, just like your father."

Azula scowled even further as she produced blue flames in her hands.

"Azula wait!" Leo tried to stop her.

"NO! He's mine!" She erected a large and massive firewall that separated her and the Shredder, she wanted him all to herself.

Azula sent a very powerful fire-blast toward Shredder who swiped the Sword of Tengu to create an energy-wave to cancel her attack. He thrusted the Sword forward and sent an energy wave directly at her, forcing her to swerve to the side. But she saw the powerful hole that was left in the wall from it. She gave a death-glare toward Shredder as she sent yet another powerful blast of blue flame, but Shredder was able to block it by using the Sword's energy as a shield.

The erratic blasts of blue fire and energy from the Sword of Tengu we're powerful enough that everyone else was forced to find some form of cover to avoid getting swept up. Toph and Aang erected a large earth-wall to shield everyone. Zuko looked a bit toward the side and looked in actual worry for his sister, knowing she couldn't stop the Shredder.

Shredder sent a blast from the sword toward Azula as the light reflected in her eyes before she propelled herself upward with flames from her hands. While she was in the air, she kicked downward to send a vertical arc of blue flame at Shredder, which he cancelled out with a swipe from his sword. He jumped toward the side to avoid a fire-blast that Azula sent as she landed.

Azula went on the offensive as she propelled herself forward with fire from her feet as though she we're skating and sent multiple fists of blue-flame toward Shredder. He was easily able to block all her attacks with the Sword. She tried to come in close with a firey-slash with the intent of decapitating him, but Shedder caught her wrist with her free hand and delivered a knee to her gut, knocking the wind out of her as he tossed her aside like a rag-doll.

Azula took a few deep breaths of exhaustion, as she was still tired from her fight against Zuko and Karai. She saw Shedder standing admits the blue flames as he began to taunt her.

"Look at you." Shredder spat. "You're pathetic, fighting like a naïve child. You cannot defeat me with simple emotion; not even your lightning was enough to stop me."

"Oh… I'll show you lightning!" Azula yelled as she readied a lightning attack.

Not even giving Shredder time to respond, Azula thrusted her fingers forward and sent a very powerful lightning bolt at Shredder, who responded with a blast from the Sword of Tengu. The two attacks met in the middle…

 ***BOOM!***

A powerful explosion erupted, turning what was left of the large lab into nothing more than rubble. Everyone was blown back; hero and villain alike, including those who we're already unconscious.

Aang, Leo, Zuko, Katara, Raph, Toph, Mikey, Don, Sokka, Suki, Karai, and Splinter groaned a bit as they we're previously blown away and found themselves stuck on the ground, but still conscious and alive.

Shredder was blown back to a wall that was close to the opening that led to his rocket. Much of his armor was blown away in the blast, including his helmet revealing the face of Oroku Saki. He looked in his right hand and saw his Sword was missing. It was just on the ground to the right of him, still intact.

However, before Shredder could move, he heard a familiar yell and saw Azula blasting herself directly at him, her look of rage still present. She slammed herself into Shredder and onto the wall as her hand lit on fire.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Azula yelled as she used her firey-hands to litterlay try and tear Shredder apart as he was unable to block her. She slashed at his body, face, and arms, with no sign of stopping. "YOU MONSTER! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Azula slashed at his face and knocked him down briefly. She pulled him back up by the throat and saw half of the skin on his face was peeled off, however, her anger turned into shock when she didn't see flesh below the skin but metal, the face of a robot.

"What?" Azula breathed in confusion. She wanted to see if he had any flesh. She used fire in her hand to swipe away at the abdomen of what was left of his armor. As she slashed it all away she had revealed the full-body and face of the Utrom, Ch'rell.

"What in… You…" Azula stuttered as she actually backed up, but it wasn't in fear, it was of complete and utter confusion as Ch'rell glared at her.

"What are you?"

Ch'rell used Azula's confusion to his advantage as he quickly rolled his exo-suit over to the Sword of Tengu. Which he picked up and blasted Azula back with it.

Ch'rell then began to walk toward his ship as he spoke. "Computer. Voice authorization Ch'rell!"

A computer spoke from the ship. _"Voice authorization recognized. What are your orders, Master?"_ The door to the ship opened as Ch'rell walked across the bridge.

"Commence launce immediately!"

" _Commencing launch sequence in t-minus 6o seconds."_ The door to the rocket closed as Ch'rell was now inside with the Sword of Tengu in his hands.

The Turtles, Team Avatar, Karai, and Splinter all slowly got up as some had to help a few others up.

Mikey groaned. "Any one got the number of that bus?" He rubbed his head.

"Come on! We have to stop him!" Aang declared as everyone was back on their feet.

Zuko got back on his feet and saw the unconscious body of his sister against the wall. He quickly ran toward her and held her head up.

"Azula…"

She coughed a bit as she weakly open her eyes and looked at her brother. "Don't look at me like that."

"Are you okay?" He asked honestly.

"Forget about me." She looked at him with a determined expression. "Just stop him!"

Zuko had his own determined look as he nodded. "I will. Stay here, help will be here soon." He set his sister up against the wall as she laid and watched her brother join his friends.

Everyone made it to the silo just as the bridge retracted and smoke began to come out of the bottom of the rocket. The silo doors we're opening above to reveal the red sky where Sozin's Comet was still in orbit.

"We're too late!" Sokka exclaimed. "Shredder's already on board and the ship's taking off!"

"Then we're taking off to!" Toph stated.

"Got that right, we ain't giving up!" Raph agreed. "We just gotta get inside!"

"And how do we do that?" Suki asked.

Karai looked toward the side and saw an opening. "There! An exhaust port!"

"Then lets go!" Leo ordered as everyone ran around to the point where they would be parallel to the exhaust port. Toph bent a bridge made of rock from the rock-wall and it led directly to the opening as the rocket was about to ascend.

"MOVE NOW!" Leo yelled as they all ran as fast as they could. Fire began to ignite from the engines just as they all entered. Aang was first, followed by Katara, Leo, Don, Zuko, Toph, Karai, Mikey, Splinter, Sokka, Suki, and finally Raph right as the ship began to launch.

Raph quickly pulled the door closed just as the rocket shot up into the air.

* * *

The battle for Ba-Sing-Se was all but won as most of what was left the Foot and Fire Nation forces had no choice but to fall back as the Alliance pushed forward. But all the fighting stopped as they heard a powerful noise coming from the Foot citadel.

An opening formed in the roof as the Shredder's massive vessel launched out and propelled itself upward directly toward the sky.

Everyone had their own expressions of shock as they saw the ship moving at an intense speed directly into the air, leaving behind a trail of smoke.

Iroh saw this and knew who was on it. "We have done all we can. Its up to you now."

 **Done.**

 **Oh my GOD! That has got to be the longest chapter I have ever written! A LOT has happened in it that I can't even begin to describe. The war for Ba-Sing-Se, the destruction of the Foot-Carrier, the fights against the Foot Mystics and mutant benders even the Cyborg-Ozai, and of course the confrontation against the Shredder. I put a lot of effort into this chapter and I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Ba-Sing-Se appears to be all-but liberated, and most of the Foot are defeated. However, Shredder's ship has launched and Project Meteoroid is still a threat, not to mention Shredder has the Sword of Tengu now. However, the Turltes, Team Avatar, along with Splinter and Karai have boarded the ship. There is still hope.**

 **I only have two more chapters left in this amazing story. The final Sozin's Comet chapter, and an epilogue afterwards.**

 **The Final Battle reaches its climax in the next chapter.**


	34. Sozin's Comet - Destiny

**Hi everyone. First off, sorry again for the long wait, I've had a busy schedule. Second, this is it, the final battle of Worlds Collide. I just wanted to say that this has been a great journey and I appreciate all the patience and support you've given me when it came to this story, I never thought it would have this many followers. Thank you all for everything.**

 **Note, I will have an epilogue chapter after this, and I will be doing a sequel as well. Sorry to all you LOK fans, but I will NOT be doing an LOK crossover.**

 **So without further delay, I present the penultimate chapter of Worlds Collide.**

 **Sozin's Comet – Destiny**

The battle in Ba-Sing-Se was all but done; due to the combined efforts of the Order of the White Lotus, the Guardians, as well as the rebel forces from the Day of Black Sun; all the remaining Fire Nation and Foot forces have been defeated, the survivors we're all imprisoned by the rebels.

However, despite this stunning victory, it seemed rather hallow as everyone looked upward toward a large trail of smoke that led up to the sky. Shredder's vessel had successfully launched into the sky and would be in orbit relatively soon.

On top of the fortress that once served as the headquarters of the Foot; the Five Mystics each materialized in streams of fire, water, earth, wind, and metal respectively as they too looked upward to the trail of smoke that led to the vanishing skyward rocket.

"It would seem Project Meteoroid has all but succeeded." The Earth Mystic observed.

"However, it no longer maters." The Water Mystic said. "For the Heart of Tengu has been destroyed."

"And with it, Ch'rell's hold over us!" The Fire Mystic added.

"That Utrom abomination believed that since we could not touch it, he was safe and we we're under his dominion." The Metal Mystic said.

"However now, thanks to the Avatar's own self-righteousness, it is dust." The Wind Mystic said in an almost sadistically glee fashion.

With that the Mystics underwent a transformation. Without the Heart of Tengu pendant to keep them restraint, their full power began to surface and their true forms we're revealed.

The Metal Mystic's body exploded in light before his entire body reformed. He was a tall bald humanoid that appeared to be completely made out of metal with piercing red eyes. His left arm appeared to be a large metal spike as his right arm had a hand, holding his staff. He wore gold and blue body armor that resembled that of a samurai.

The Fire Mystic was next as his body was engulfed in flame and he took his new form. His skin was yellow with red eyes and his body had flames coming from it. He wore red and orange body armor as he held his staff as well.

The Water Mystic followed as his body morphed and changed in water to reveal his new form. His head was an aqua blue with red eyes as his neck and arms appeared to be made out of flowing water as he had aqua and dark blue body armor, while still baring his staff.

The Earth Mystic's body grew much larger in mud and dirt before it solidified into his own form. He was much more bulky and muscular than his fellow mystics as his skin seemed to be made completely out of rock with red eyes. His body armor was a dirty brown as he held his own staff.

The Wind Mystic was surrounded by a tornado for a brief time until it unveiled his new form. His skin was pale white with red eyes as a small whirlwind encompassed his head and his arms appeared to be small twisters made entirely out of wind and air with solid hands that held his staff. His armor was white and light blue.

"And we are free!" The Metal Mystic announced. "Free to resurrect the _true_ Shredder!"

"And a new age of chaos…" The Water Mystic began as all five pointed their staffs toward each other, the ends meeting at the center of their circle.

"Shall begin." The Wind mystic finished.

A powerful bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and impacted the point where their staffs met. In a flash of light, the five Mystics vanished, leaving only smoke of where they once stood.

* * *

Within the Shredder's rocket; our group of heroes, consisting of Leo, Aang, Master Splinter, Zuko, Raph, Mikey, Katara, Don, Toph, Sokka, Suki, and Karai were all in the port they had just barley entered in the nick of time. At this point, all twelve we're grimacing as the g-force from the launch kept their bodies pinned hard to the metal floor.

Within a few moments however, the ship's artificial gravity kicked in and everyone felt the pressure ease off.

"Whoa, that's better." Mikey said as they all tried to stand back up.

As Aang got his barrings, he couldn't help but look out the window on the door they used to get in as he did, his eyes widened.

"No way…"

Katara, Zuko, Suki, and Sokka joined him as they looked out the window with their own expressions of awe. They saw their own Earth just below them, as well as the vastness of space. All the stars, everything, needless to say, it was a little overwhelming.

"I can't believe we're in space." Katara breathed.

"It's actually… kinda beautiful…" Suki breathed as well.

"Never in a million years would I think I'd ever come up here." Sokka said.

"That makes two of us." Zuko added in an awed-tone of voice.

"And its days like these where I wish I _wasn't_ blind." Toph said as she couldn't see what her friends we're so amazed over.

"Guys, I get this is all a big surprise to you, but we need to focus." Leo told Team Avatar.

Aang was the first to regains aid focus. "Leo's right. We have a job to do, and a maniac to stop."

Karai walked toward a console at the other door and pressed a few keys before it opened to reveal the interior of the ship.

"Come on, let's go find the Shredder and pay our respects." Raph said as they all walked out into a large and long hallway within the ship.

"Wait." Master Splinter stopped them. "We must rethink our priorities. This vessel represents the real threat."

"Master's Splinter is correct." Karai said. "This whole ship is automated. Even if we we're to defeat the Shredder, he would still succeed in crashing Sozin's Comet onto the Earth's surface."

"Okay, then we have to take control of the ship." Sokka pointed out.

"And how do we do that, Captain Boomerang?!" Toph questioned. "My feet can see anything outside this giant floating hunk of metal!"

"I know how we can do it." Don pointed out. "Something this big has to have a power source, right? Something that controls this ship's built in gravity generator. We take that out, we stop Project Meteoroid in its tracks."

"Then we got a plan." Zuko said. "But where do we find it?"

"Follow me." Karai told the whole group. "I've seen the skematics of this vessel, I know where it is."

Karai then ran down one end of the hallway, with everyone else following her. As they ran, Katara spoke to Leo.

"Hey Leo, how long do you think its gonna take for Shredder to find out were here?"

"Knowing him, he probably already does." Leo answered.

As they ran, no one seemed to notice a small built-in-camera on the ceiling monitoring their every move.

* * *

Elsewhere in the starship, Ch'rell, still in his damaged exo-suit, and holding the Sword of Tengu, walked into a laboratory-like chamber with a twelve-foot-tall exo-skeleton-like suit in the center.

" _Master Shredder, intruders have been detected."_ The ship's computer spoke. Ch'rell looked in surprise as a screen in the lab hummed to life as it showed the large group of the Turltes, Team Avatar, Splinter, and Karai.

"What?!" Ch'rell observed in anger. "The Turtles, the Avatar, and the Rat, onboard my ship?!"

" _Once more, all of your forces we're left behind due to our premature launch."_ The computer spoke as Ch'rell typed a few commands on a nearby console.

"Has all the bending genetic data been stored within the ship's computer date drives?" Ch'rell asked as machines began to attach extra features to the large exo-skeleton in the center of the room.

" _Yes Master Shredder."_ The computer responded.

"Then it doesn't matter." Ch'rell began as the large exo-suit was adorned with more Shredder-like features. It was completely black with a red Foot symbol on its chest, with large bladed-shoulder armor. It bore four large arms, adorned with bladed-gauntlets, along with small blades and spikes on its legs.

"We proceed on schedule." Ch'rell continued. "The Foot served me well, but if they are to be sacrificed with the rest of this primitive back-water planet, then so be it!" He walked behind the massive exo-suit and placed the Sword of Tengu vertically in a compartment on its back, with only the handle sticking out. The Sword of Tengu lit as its energy was channeled throughout the entire suit.

"I will crash Sozin's Comet onto the surface, destroying all life on the planet, including those wretched Guardians that have hounded me for so long!" Ch'rell said as his smaller exo-suit reached onto Ch'rell's Utrom body, grabbed him and placed him where the head would be on his larger exo-suit. "And I will grow my army of Bending Super Soldiers and ultimately use the Nexus to return to the Utrom homeworld, where vengeance shall be mine!"

From the ceiling a black helmet, identical to that of his previous Shredder armor, placed on top of Ch'rell's body, covering his entire face and locking him onto his new exo-suit. His red eyes beamed with pure evil, as he was ready to end his foes once and for all.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se; Foot Central Command_

The laboratory that once held a huge battle, right outside the Shredder's ship's launch-silo, was all but torn apart and completely set ablaze. One of the few occupants left in it was Azula, who was barley conscious. Her mind couldn't fully adjust to these recent events; not only did the Shredder lie to her, he killed her father and was now attempting to destroy her whole world. With that in mind, everything her brother and former friends told her about being a pawn of the Foot now seemed accurate to her. In fact the more she thought about it, the more she realized she was a pawn to her own father as well. She slightly laughed inwardly at the irony, she was once one of the most powerful Firebenders on the planet and one of the most feared and respected people who lived, but in actuality, all she was, was just a tool.

The defeated Princess laid her back on a wall as she weakly watched all this room fall apart completely; she barley had enough energy to even see as her vision became blurry. It would seem this place would be her grave, but someone came into her field of vision.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Azula's vision slightly cleared to reveal it was Dr. Chaplin. What was he doing here?

"Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out of here." Chaplin helped the weak Azula to her feet as he slung one of her arms over his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Chaplin, and the weak Azula, looked to see the source of the voice, it was Hun, on his right we're Dark Leo and Dark Don, and on his left we're Dark Raph and Dark Mikey. Though they each looked a bit worse-for-wear due to being in a huge battle recently, they looked quite angry.

"Uh… hey guys…" Chaplin laughed nervously.

"I wouldn't laugh if I we're you, traitor!" Dark Leo pointed out.

"By now, its no secret who it was that helped the Avatar and his Turtle-buddies." Dark Don said.

Chaplin backed up a bit, still holding the weakened Azula. "I can see you guys having some mixed feelings about that, but can this wait? This whole place is falling apart!"

"Yeah, exciting isn't it?" Dark Mikey chuckled insanely, despite being injured.

"Not really." Dark Raph said. "Because we're all left behind!"

"The Master had to leave us behind!" Hun exclaimed. "We're as good as dead once he gets to Sozin's Comet! And who do we have to blame for that?" He growled.

Chaplin was sweating quite nervously, and even the weakened Azula looked a bit nervous herself.

"We're gonna rip you apart four-eyes!" Dark Raph threatened as the five dangerous individuals slowly walked toward him.

"I call dibs on his small intestine!" Dark Mikey called.

Before any of them could react however, they all heard a familiar roar as everyone turned and looked out toward the silo-chamber.

The roar came from Appa who flew in from the silo opening that the rocket flew out of. He rammed through a wall and into the burning laboratory; causing the five villaisn to back off slightly.

As soon as Appa landed; Casey, Hakoda, April, Mai, and Ty-Lee all hopped off and got to work on dispatching the villains while Professor Honeycutt got down and wnet to help Chaplin.

Hakoda swung his sword at Dark Leo forcing him back before the Southern Water Tribe warrior punched him in the face to knock him out. Ty-Lee quickly chi-blocked Dark Mikey, causing him to yelp as he fell down. Mai kicked Dark Raph in the face to knock him out and hard on the ground as well. April swept her legs to knock Dark Don off his feet and onto the ground. Casey leaped directly at Hun with a baseball bat before swinging it across his face and knocking him unconscious, and also knocking a few teeth out.

"That was for my Dad." Casey said to the unconscious Hun.

"Chaplin, you okay?" Ty-Lee asked him as Honeycutt helped him with Azula.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for the save." He said with a smile.

Mai noticed Azula and looked with a scowl. "Why are you helping _her_?"

Chaplin sighed as he saw the whole thing from the security cameras earlier, including Azula's fight with Shredder. He didn't exactly know the princess, but no one deserves what she got from him.

"Long story, but I'd prefer we get out of here before I tell it."

"Good idea." Hakoda said. "Lets get them up to." He gestured to the unconscious villains. Evil or not, they couldn't just leave them to die in the burning lab.

"We saw the ship launch." April said as they began to load up the knocked out Hun and Dark Turtles onto Appa. "Was Shredder on it?"

"Yeah." Chaplin answered as he and Honeycutt helped Azula onto the bison as well. "But Karai, Zuko, along with the Turtles, Avatar, and their friends made it on to."

"Then we still got a chance." Casey said.

"I have attempted to send a message to the Utroms to see if they can intercept the ship before it reaches the comet, but I have not received a response." Honeycutt aid. "I'm not sure I've gotten through."

Hakoda was on the reigns of Appa and ready to take off. "Then we'll just have to put our faith in all of them." Before he could snap the reigns they heard someone call out to them.

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" They all looked to the silo to see Stockman trying to crawl out. His robotic body was all but torn apart. He had one single arm and both his legs and lower torso appeared to be missing, no doubt damaged in the fall. "You can't just leave me here, can you?"

Everyone simply rolled his or her eyes at this.

* * *

Two minutes later; Appa flew out of the lab as it completely burnt away and the entire Foot Central Command fortress was soon caught on fire, no doubt falling apart since the ship launched. While most of the group was on Appa's saddle, Stockman was being held in Appa's teeth as what was left of his robotic body was covered in drool.

"Just when I thought I couldn't sink any lower." Stockman drolled.

* * *

 _Shredder's Ship_

The vessel was now in orbit and slowly proceeding toward Sozin's Comet as it continued to ride on its orbit and encased in fire from the Earth's atmosphere.

A door opened up as the Turtles, Team Avatar, Splinter, and Karai walked into the massive power core chamber. It was a huge room as the group was on a massive bridge that connected four entrances on each side. They couldn't see the ceiling or floor. That was how big it was. And at its center was the power core, a massive pillar of blue pulsating energy.

"Whoa." Don breathed. "I hate to say it, but impressive."

"Hard to believe Shredder built all this in just a few months." Suki commented.

"I'm guessing that's the power core?" Sokka asked.

"You guessed correctly. Karai responded as the group walked closer to it.

"That's a lot of energy." Aang noted.

"You said it Twinkle Toes." Toph commented. "I don't need my eyes to tell that." She could practically feel the energy herself.

"Karai?" Leo asked her.

"I'll need to access the console and I can shut down the power to the gravity generator while still maintaining the life support systems." She answered.

Karai found a console near the core and began to type away.

"We can make this the Emergency Bridge." Mikey said in his goofy tone-of-voice before putting on his Star Trek impression. "Spock to the Emergency Bridge, Scotty we need more power!"

Mikey chuckled a bit at his own joke, but when he turned and saw everyone else giving him slight glares, telling him this wasn't the time, he gave a nervous chuckle.

"Sorry."

"Karai, are you sure you can do this?" Zuko asked her. "We're on a bit of a time limit."

"I know, don't worry though. I can…" Karai's expression quickly morphed into worry as a red screen formed on the console. "No!" She tried to type in more commands, but none of them worked. "No! No! NO!"

"What? What is it?" Katara asked urgently.

"The codes have been changed! I'm locked out of the system!"

"Is there anything else you can do?" Aang asked.

"I don't know!" Karai responded, sounding panicked.

Don pried off the bottom covering below the console to expose several wires. "Lets see if we can hot-wire this thing."

Toph's dull eyes widened as her seismic sense picked up something. "Well whatever you're doing, better do it fast! Cause we got company!"

She pointed to a door, where they all looked to see it open and they saw the Shredder. Most of the group looked with expressions of shock and fear as they saw his newer, much larger, and much more intimidating armor. It was a major improvement over his last one.

"Whoa!" Sokka exclaimed. "What is he?! Like some kind of… Supper Shredder?!"

"Sure looks that way." Leo stated as he, Raph, Don, Suki, Mikey, Karai, and Sokka each took out their respective weapons while Aang, Katara, Zuko, and Toph took bending stances as the Shredder walked into the chamber and revealed his blades.

"Shredder." Splinter growled as he and his hated enemy made eye contact. "May my Master Yoshi finally know vengeance today!"

Splinter was the first to charge directly at Shredder, who responded in kind. Shredder was the first to lash claws from his upper arms at him, but Splinter blocked and parried them. As Splinter did this, it gave Aang an opportunity to attack as he leaped up into the air and propel himself downward with a powerful fire-blast from his right fist.

Shredder's armor took the brunt of the blast, but an energized aura produced from the installed Sword of Tengu provided a shield from the blast as Shredder's upper bladed gauntlets lashed at Aang which he was able to avoid by swerving past Shredder's head and landing on his feet, glaring at the evil alien.

"You made a grave mistake following me here, boy!" Shredder glared directly at Aang. "You and all your pathetic friends!"

No sooner did he say that, that Leo, Zuko, Raph, Karai, Toph, Katara, Don, Mikey, Sokka, and Suki all surrounded Shredder along with Aang and Splinter.

Shredder gave a roar as he lashed out with his claws directly at Leo, forcing him to block with his swords. Katara and Zuko both shot out attacks of water and fire respectively, but he was able to block them by energizing his upper claws and slicing through their attacks. Mikey jumped over him and tried to hit him in the back with his nunchucks while Don and Sokka rushed him up front, but Shredder's lower claws blocked both Don's staff and Sokka's own sword before his palms opened up and shot blasts of energy to blast them both back.

Karai and Suki we're the next to lash at him with their swords from behind, but he was able to block their attack with his blades right as Aang was gunning for the head, but Shredder's upper arms grabbed both young women and threw them at Aang, knocking him back.

Toph punched the ground and used her Metalbending to pry out two large pieces of metal, which she threw at Shredder like a pair of makeshift shurikens, but Shredder was able to slice through all of them. This however provided an ample distraction for Raph as he tried to come at Shredder from behind, but his lower arms turned 180 degrees as they grabbed Raph's wrist before tossing him directly at Toph, causing them to both roll across the ground.

Leo leaped at Shredder with his blades, but Shredder blocked all of Leo's strikes. As they locked their blades together, Aang blew a gust of wind at Shredder to blow him away from Leo, which he was successful at doing. Katara noticed a large amount of water in the coolant tanks built-into-the wall behind Shredder. She used her Waterbending to pour all the water from the tanks and completely cover Shredder's entire armor, which she froze completely.

Aang was the first to smile. "Way to go Katara."

But this was very short lived, as a large surge of energy shot out from the ice, freeing Shedder. He then lashed out all four of his arms and sent powerful blasts of energy at each of the heroes, forcing them to scatter across the bridge to desperately avoid them.

The energy was something Aang quickly took notice of. "That power… it's from the Sword of Tengu!"

"How observant." Shredder began to explain. "The sword is now plugged into this armor, allowing me to channel its full power!"

"Just what kind of armor is that?" Zuko questioned as he got up. "It's already taken a lot of punishment but we barley even scratched it!"

"Did you fools honestly think I wouldn't be prepared for your arrival?" Shredder explained as he walked forward. "You recall how I spied on you during your journey through the Fire Nation before the Day of Black Sun? And how my spies kept careful watch over you, Zuko?" The former Fire Prince glared at him with that. "My agents we're doing more than just tracking your progress and motives; as they watched each of you practice and spar with each other, perfecting your own bending and fighting styles, they recorded all the data which they then transferred to me. Using this data, I've built this armor for the sole purpose of countering each of your abilities! Ninjitsu, Firebending, Waterbending, Earthbending, even Airbending are useless against what I am now!

Shredder's upper fists began to surge with the Sword of Tengu's energy as he raised them. "This armor was built to be your death!" He slammed them on the ground, creating a powerful wave of energy that blasted everyone back.

Most of the group was blown back and rolled across the ground of the bridge; but Raph, Suki, and Don we're too close to the edge. Raph fell off the first bridge and came close off the lower one, but he used his sais in the railing to catch himself. Don almost fell, but Suki quickly grabbed him as she held onto the railing to prevent herself from falling.

Toph used the floor with her Metalbending to create a makeshift armor for herself as she ran at Shredder and began to slug him across his chest. Mikey joined her with his nunchucks. But he quickly energized his claws and sliced at Toph, blasting her back and slicing all her armor off. Shredder performed a powerful roundhouse to knock Mikey back all the way toward the door. Toph hit a railing hard as she felt some cuts on her chest where Shredder slashed at her.

Leo, Karai, and Sokka tried to rush Shredder from behind with their swords, but his upper body turned 180 degrees as he blocked all their attacks with his claws. This however left him vulnerable as Aang blasted a gust of air, with Zuko mirroring his actions with a powerful fire-fist, and Katara bending huge orb of water and unleashing a gush of it as well. All three elemental attacks hit Shredder dead on as the three sword-users moved out of the way and Shredder came close to the edge of the bridge.

Splinter used this opportunity to rush at Shredder, leap up high deliver a strong kick to his chest to knock him off and send him falling down the pit.

"Well… did that do it? Did that get him?" Sokka hopped.

In less than a second later, Shredder actually ascended straight upward. Energy was shot out from his armor's feet and shoulders like thrusters, enabling him to fly causing them all to look in surprise.

"I don't think so Sokka." Aang noted.

Shredder looked more than a little annoyed. "Pathetic insects! You cannot destroy me! But I can destroy _you_!"

As he hovered in the air, he began to channel more energy from the Sword of Tengu into his armor's upper arms before he began to throw multiple energy blasts at his enemies; forcing them to scatter and duck.

Zuko rolled across the ground and got on his feet before shooting several fire-fists at Shredder, who responded with another energy blast that blew away Zuko's attack and blasting another attack at Zuko, knocking back the fire-prince and toward a railing.

Aang used Airbending to propel him to the outer wall and began to run on it as Shredder continued to throw several energy blasts at him; each one exploded as it impacted the wall. One exploded off a pillar, which fell down to where Suki and Don we're as she pulled Don out of the way. It crashed and fell downward to the lowermost bridge where Raph was still hanging, and he used this to climb his way back up.

Aang, still running on the wall, made it to another set of coolant tanks and used his Waterbending to create a shield to intercept Shredder's next attack, which created a powerful cloud of steam. Aang leapt through the steam with a powerful sweep of his feet to create a large stream of fire, while combining it with a blast of air from his mouth to hit Shredder dead on and send him crashing back on the ground.

With him down on the ground; everyone tried to keep him that way. Katara used her Waterbending to bend strong patches of ice around all four arms and both his feet to pin him to the ground while Toph performed a similar action, using her Metalbending to restrain his elbows and legs. At the same time everyone else tried to hold him still; Leo and Sokka pinned his upper right arm, Aang and Zuko held his upper left arm, Karai and Suki went to his left leg, Raph and Splinter went to his right leg. He was trying hard to get himself out of this pinning, but no one was budging.

"Keep him there!" Don shouted as he and Mikey saw a large broken down cable-modem, damaged from one of Shredder's previous attacks.

Both Turltes looked to each other and nodded as they each grabbed a large cable that was severed with electricity surging out of each severed end.

"Prepare to get shocked, Shredder!" Mikey called out as they leaped at him with the cables.

Shredder gave a yell as he surged with a large amount of energy to explode out of his bindings and blast back everyone who was pinning him down. He yelled as he got up and grabbed the cables while punching back both Mikey and Don. Shredder then quickly turned to the recovering Splinter and used both exposed cables to shock and electrocute Splinter, causing him to yell in pain.

Everyone, especially Leo, looked on with his or her own expressions of shock while Ch'rell smiled sadistically underneath his helmet.

"Master Splinter!" Leo exclaimed before running directly at Shredder, giving him a powerful kick to knock him away from the electrocuted Splinter. Shredder turned to Leo and they both glared before clashing blades once more.

Leo slashed relentlessly at Shredder, not keen on giving him an opening; but due to Shedder's large number of blades, he was able to block each and every one of his attacks. Leo jumped upward and slashed at the helmet, cutting away the front of it and exposing Ch'rell's face, much to the red-skinned Utrom's shock before growling and kicking Leo across the chest.

The blue-clad Turtle hit the railing hard, but didn't even get a chance to recover as he used his upper right gauntlet to impale Leonardo. His eyes widened before Shredder lifted him up and threw him hard across the ground.

Aang's eyes widened in horror as he saw this, Raph himself had a similar expression. "Leo! NO!" The red-clad Turtle shouted. Both Aang and Raph, as well as everyone else, struggling to get up from Shredder's last attacked, had faces of dread as they saw Leo bleeding on the ground, but still barley alive.

Raph was the first to glare directly at the one responsible. "Shredder!" He charged directly at him with a vengeance and leaped sais first, but Shredder caught him with both his wrists before bringing him down on his knees, breaking several of Raph's ribs before tossing him away.

Everyone else, minus the injured Aang and Splinter, was getting up before they both nodded toward each other. Mikey was the first to charge at him, but Shredder moved out of the way and delivered a kick to Mikey's right knee, dislocating it and causing him to yell in pain. The Shredder grabbed the orange-clad Turtle by the throat before he threw him toward the incoming Suki. She was able to duck, but looked in shock to see him being tossed like that, giving Shredder an opening to blast her with an energy attack to send her flying back hard to the wall on the other side; knocking her out and breaking her right arm which took the impact.

"Suki!" Sokka exclaimed in shock at seeing her get hurt like that. He then glared at Shredder before charging at him along with Don who also just recovered. Sokka threw his boomerang above Shredder, to cut off a piece of hanging ruble and send it falling toward him, but a blast from his hands blew it away before it made contact. This hopefully gave Don and Sokka an opening as they rushed at Shredder, but he caught both their weapons with his lower arms before throwing them away.

Shredder slashed at Sokka's chest, causing him to yell in pain before Shredder kicked his right leg, dislocating it and causing Sokka to scream in pain as Shredder slapped him back.

"AW! My leg!" Sokka yelled in agony as he held his broken and dislocated right leg.

Don tried to punch Shredder but he caught his fist by the wrist and began to twist it in a way that wasn't meant to be twisted, before delivering a fierce strike to his elbow, breaking his collar bone and knocking out Don.

Zuko tried to shot another fire-blast at Shredder, but he countered it with a blast of energy, cancelling the attack. He tried to slash at Zuko, but Toph quickly pried up the floor with her Metalbending to try and block the attack. However, Shredder was easily able to slice through it was he energized his blades before kicking Zuko back, almost knocking him off an edge, but Katara quickly caught him. Shredder then picked Toph up by the shirt and bringing her down on his knee, cracking her spine slightly, but it wasn't broken. Toph screamed in pain as Shredder threw her away toward an incoming Karai who caught her to keep her from falling off a nearby edge.

"ENOUGH!"

Shredder turned to see a glaring Aang charging at him with his Air-Scooter a flame in his right hand, and an air ball in his left. He brought them both together right when he was in front of Shredder, creating a powerful explosion of air and fire to blast him back all the way to the other side of the chamber. Aang glared hatefully at Shredder.

"Why Ch'rell?!" Aang demanded. "Why are you so cruel!? Why are you so evil!? What can you possibly gain from all this pain and suffering!?"

Shredder gave a glare. "Foolish boy. Had you and your friends simply stayed out of my way, this could have been avoided, but you have sealed your fate. Now you simply annoy me with your preaching!"

Aang glared as he leaped at Shredder and sent a fire-fist attack at Shredder who created another aura-shield from the Sword of Tengu to block the attack. Shredder quickly seized Aang by the throat.

Katara saw this as she tried to help up Zuko and looked with worry. "Go." The Firebender told her. "Help him. I'll be fine!"

Zuko grabbed the railing as he tried to pull himself up and see Katara rush to help Aang.

At the same time, Karai gently set the unconscious Toph down by a wall before running to help Aang as well.

Shredder charged his claws again with energy before slicing at Aang, cutting him across the chest and sending him rolling across the ground. The evil Utrom then shot a blast of energy from both his upper arms at a large pillar that had previously fallen down, that was rather close to Aang. The rubble fell and landed hard on Aang, pinning him to the ground, but he was still conscious.

The injured Avatar struggled to get up as he saw Shredder approach him menacingly, before he even got close however a wave of water blocked his path.

"Stay away from him!"

He turned to see Katara directing the wave at Shredder to knock him back several feet. She as well as Karai both glared at Shredder as they barred his path.

"Insolent children." Shredder growled. "You need to be taught discipline!" Shredder charged and lashed his claws at them. Katara moved out of the way as Karai blocked the attack with her own swords.

Katara then bent as much water as she could and sent several disks and spikes of ice at Shredder as Karai kept him distracted. It hit him in the back, and disoriented him long enough for Karai to slash at his front, sending him back slightly, but still staying on his feet. Karai tried to attack him again, but Shredder shot a point-blank energy attack from all four of his arms, blasting Karai back quite a ways.

Zuko struggled to get up, but his fatigue was not helping, and Aang was having some issues as well as the rubble pinning him down was quite heavy.

Shredder slowly and menacingly approached Katara, the only one still standing against him, but she refused to give up as she created a large wave of water from some nearby coolant tanks behind her and soared at Shredder and creating large ice-blades around her arms. She tried to slash at Shredder, but he was far too quick for her and blocked her attack with his upper gauntlets as he tried to slash at her neck with his lower left arm, but Katara was able to use her Waterbending to blast herself out of the way in time.

She hit the railing hard and tried to feel her neck for any cuts, fortunately there we're none, but something was missing that caused her eyes to widen.

"My mom's necklace!" She voiced out loud. She looked in the middle of the floor and saw the severed necklace just lying there.

Ch'rell raised an eyebrow slightly when Katara outward voiced her concern. He looked down to see the necklace and Katara trying to reach toward it. Her fingers we're only an inch away from them, but before she could get it….

 ***CRUSH!***

Shredder's foot slammed hard on the necklace, causing Katara's own pupils to shrink. Aang, Zuko, and even the recovering Karai looked in shock, while Ch'rell merely smirked sadistically.

In an act of pure cruelty, Shredder had crushed the one object that had the most value to Katara. He lifted his foot to reveal the broken and crushed remains of Kya's betrothal necklace. Katara felt as though her heart broke as tears formed in her eyes.

"Its amusing what some people hold value over." Shredder smiled evilly. "They even treat garbage as if it we're something important to them."

As Shredder chuckled, rage swelled up in Katara as she looked up toward him with rage-filled and tear-filled eyes.

"YOU MONSTER!"

Katara tried to punch him but he caught her right wrist and snapped it, causing her to scream in pain before tossing her away like a rag doll. Zuko tried to pry himself up while Aang looked in horror at seeing the girl he loves in so much physical and emotional pain.

Shredder approached the recovering Katara as she held her broken wrist. He raised his upper right claws with the intent on decapitating her, he brought them down, but before they could make contact, Karai came in and blocked it with one of her swords. He glared in the direction of his adoptive daughter.

"Karai."

"No… I will not let you hurt them any longer." She said defiantly at him.

"Karai… you go too far!" Shredder slapped her away, causing her to hit Katara and both young women to roll across the ground and toward the wall. Meanwhile, Zuko had just pulled himself up back onto the bridge.

"For years you have dishonored me with your insolence!" Shredder exclaimed. "You've questioned me, pestered me, and now betrayed me! Well, if you feel as though your place lies with them…" Shredder's hands began to surge once more with energy as both Karai and Katara looked with fear. "…Then you can die with them!"

Shredder launched a powerful blast at them. For the still-pinned Aang, it was like a horror show, it may as well be moving in slow motion as the lightning-like blast was aching toward them. However, someone else would try to intercept the attack.

Still in slow motion, Zuko propelled himself with Firebending directly in front of the attack….

"Nooooo…." Zuko uttered as he tried to redirect it like he would lightning, but he was unable to properly intercept it as the attack hit him dead on, rather then the two young women.

Aang, Katara, and Karai's expressions we're one of pure terror as the attack shocked and electrocuted Zuko all over his body; a large burn mark was on his chest as his shirt was torn off and even his arms we're singed.

"ZUKO!" Karai and Katara screamed in terror as he fell at their feet. They could see the bad shape he was in, though he was only barley alive and breathing heavily. They tried to hold him as both young women's eyes teared up.

However, such a horrifying scene only served to amuse Shredder as he gave a chuckle.

"Tell me Zuko, are you satisfied with yourself now?" Shredder began to mock. "You've spent your entire life trying to gain the respect and praise of your father and your nation; even when scared, humiliated, and exiled, you still sought to gain their approval. And when you finally had it, you still weren't satisfied; enough to the point that you threw it all away; your family, your home, your own birthright just to help those who we're once your enemies."

As Shredder mocked, Aang's own anger for Shredder increased as he tried to get out of the rubble, and was almost there.

"You pathetic child." Shredder continued to mock. "In the end you've thrown away everything you have worked so hard to gain, and all for nothing. You, your friends, and your grand gesture shall now disappear off the face of the existence!"

Shredder's hands charged once more with energy. Meanwhile, Aang was able to successfully get out of the rubble and used Airbending to enhance his running speed and rush in front of Shredder just as he was about to lash at the Avatar's friends.

Aang's hands met Shredder's energy-charged upper hands. The very second they met, the energy surged across Aang's entire body and even onto the wound where he was stabbed before back in Ba-Sing-Se. The very second that happened, Aang's body arched as his arrow-tattoos and eyes glowed and flashed.

In an instant, memories and visions flashed through Aang's mind at lightning-like speed. First it was the moment Shredder stabbed him in the catacombs in Ba-Sing-Se.

Aang looked down his left and stared at the long line of his past lives, starting with Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yang-Chen, and so many others. A memory of Kyoshi entering the Avatar State flashed in Aang's mind as he saw the long line of his past lives, followed by Roku entering the Avatar State, then the moment when Aang ran away from the Southern Air Temple a century ago, he entered the Avatar State before he and Appa drowned that night, then a flash of his eyes glowing in the crystal catacombs of Ba-Sing-Se

In the dark void of Aang's mind, a dark spectral image of Aang appeared with glowing tattoos who's eyes shot open to reveal a white glow.

Shredder was briefly staggered back in a flash as Aang previously blocked his attack.

"You insolent little…" Ch'rell was cut off when Aang's hand grabbed his face and pulled him close. His tattoos and eyes we're all glowing as Aang stood in front of him flashing a glare at Shredder. Aang had now entered the Avatar State

Karai and Katara both looked in surprise at this, as did Ch'rell himself who tried to slash at Aang, but he quickly let go of Ch'rell's face and intercepted the attack with his own Metalbending from the floor underneath him.

The Avatar State Aang twirled his hands before thrusting his palm forward and unleashing a powerful gust of wind that actually blew and knocked Shredder back across the bridge of the chamber. Katara and Karai's eyes widened in shock as they saw this.

Shredder slammed hard in the wall across the other side. He was still on his feet however as he looked upward to a powerful whirlwind, and at the source of it was Aang hovering in an Air-Sphere.

The force of the whirl-wind was enough to stir awake Raph, Toph, Don, Suki, Sokka, Mikey, even the bleeding Leo as he held his wound slightly. Master Splinter's eyes opened up slightly as even Zuko's left eye twitched open.

Aang, still in his Air-Sphere hovered high in the chamber higher before he unleashed a powerful roar that shot large streams of fire from his mouth, fists, and feet. The fire twisted and formed a horizontal ring around Aang's air-sphere as he simultaneously began to pull all the spilt water from the fight and the remaining coolant tanks around him as well as multiple pieces of metal from the rubble as well as the wall. Aang clenched his fists to shrink the metal as if they we're nothing more than stone, as he himself never used Metalbending, his enhanced power from the Avatar State helped him as he had no real earth with him at the moment. The pieces of metal and rubble formed a diagonal right ring around his air-sphere and fire-ring. Aang then pulled the last of the water and condensed it within his own sphere to form a diagonal left right around his body.

Ch'rell's eyes widened in slight fear as he witnessed this display of power. Avatar Aang hovered in his Elemental Sphere as he glared down at the Shredder.

The Avatar shot at Shredder with lighting speed. The evil villain didn't have time to react as Aang's Elemental Sphere hit him dead on and propelled Shredder upward. He activated the thrusters on his feet and in his shoulders as he flew upward in the uppermost part of the chamber with Aang following him.

Katara and Karai's surprised expressions we're suddenly taken away as their attention was diverted to their groaning friends as they struggled to get up.

"My… everything hurts…" Mikey groaned.

"Same here…" Toph groaned as well

Sokka tried to pull himself up on a railing. "Where's… Aang?"

"He…He entered… the Avatar State." Karai stuttered as Katara got to work on her only good hand to try and heal Zuko's wound before it got any worse.

Everyone looked with surprise at Karai's last statement. "The Avatar State?" Suki questioned as she walked toward the group, her broken arm hanging limply.

"I… I thought he was… locked out of it…" Don said.

"Guess not anymore." Raph said as he went over to Toph and tried to help her up

Leo tried to pull himself up while also trying to hold his bleeding wound. "That'll keep Shredder busy… How's Master Splinter?"

Most of the injured group stumbled their way to the burnt and injured rodent ninjitsu master.

"My sons… my friends… I am sorry." Splinter grimaced.

"No… there's nothing to be sorry about." Katara said as she continued to heal Zuko's wound. "Aang's back in the Avatar State. He'll stop Shredder."

Zuko coughed a bit as he tried to speak. "But… will there be enough… time…?"

Almost as if in direct response to his inquiry, the ship's computer made an announcement. _"Status update. Sozin's Comet is now in range. Project Meteoroid's final stage will commence in five minutes."_

"FIVE MINUTES!?" Sokka, Toph, Mikey, and Don all yelled at the same time.

It looked very bleak for everyone as they all huddled together. Karai was the first to break down as she openly cried. Everyone, Leo especially, looked in shock as they had never seen Karai like this.

"I'm sorry…" Karai cried. "I'm so sorry… This is my fault…. I should have stopped him sooner…. I brought this… all of this… on you… I'm so sorry…."

Leo tried to console her as best he could. "No Karai, its our fault. We couldn't stop him. We failed. We failed the Utroms, this whole world, Master Yoshi, even you… Sensei." Leo spoke the last part to Master Splinter. "I failed you."

Toph scowled a bit. "So… that's it? Shredder wins?!"

Raph growled as he punched the ground. "No! This ain't how we go out!"

Sokka looked about hopeless. "Sorry guys… but I don't think boomerang is coming back this time."

"We can't give up…" Suki tried. "We can't! There has to be a way!"

"Well I can't think of any." Mikey said, as he pretty much gave up at this point, and apparently, so did everyone else.

Zuko struggled to get up as he did, he saw the pulsating power core. "Unless…" An idea came to him. "Hey, what we're to…. happen if all that energy…. Just went up?"

Everyone turned to see the power core. "Well…. That _is_ a lot of energy…." Leo said, getting an idea of where Zuko was heading.

"In the wrong hands…" Raph commented.

"It would make a pretty big bang." Mikey finished as he got the idea to.

"How big a bang, exactly?" Sokka asked.

"The amount of energy used to power this…." Karai began. "If it we're ruptured… and this close to Sozin's Comet…. it would create a powerful explosion that'll destroy this entire vessel and the comet all at once!"

"Whoa." Suki breathed. "Seriously?"

"There's no way we'd survive." Don commented.

Zuko looked serious. "But neither would the Shredder."

"Zuko's right." Leo agreed. "We could end this… all of it… right here. Right now."

Toph smirked. "Well… might as well go out in a bang."

"No!" Splinter spoke up as he tried to get up, but was too weak to even sit up. "My sons… young ones… I could never ask all of you to…"

"It's okay Sensei." Mikey pulled himself up on a railing. "We know the score."

Sokka was in agreement. "If we don't stop the Shredder now, he'll destroy our whole world."

"And that won't be the end of it." Raph pointed out.

"That's right, with the Nexus, countless innocent people will suffer at his hands." Don added.

"So… are we all agreed?" Zuko asked.

Everyone looked around. Sokka held Suki's hand as she nodded to him, they both looked toward Don as he nodded. Toph also held Raph's hand. Leo looked to Zuko and both held the same fierce expression in their eyes. Zuko looked toward Karai, who still had tears streaming down her eyes, but her look became serious as she nodded.

Mikey looked toward the only Waterbender. "Katara?"

"What about Aang?" She asked. "Would… he go along with it?"

"I think he would." Leo spoke for him. "I've seen it, we've all seen it. Aang has proven that he's more than willing to give his life to save others. He'll agree."

Master Splinter's eyes held a serious expression as he stood up. "Then let us finish this! Together!"

Karai looked down slightly. "I am sorry I didn't do anything sooner but… I just want to say… I am beyond grateful for your acceptance of me, regardless of the past. I am… honored… to have you all… as my friends…." She looked to them with a smile as they all smiled back.

"Likewise." Katara nodded to her as she had her own tears of joy from her eyes.

"One question." Toph said. "How are we gonna get this thing to blow up?"

"We will most likely need a massive power source in order to rupture it." Don theorized.

Leo looked upward where a brutal fight would be taking place even now. "I think I know where we can find one."

* * *

Shredder had been blasted straight upward by a powerful blast of air. He stabilized himself with the rockets in his shoulders and feet as he tried to shoot a powerful energy attack at Avatar Aang in his Elemental Sphere who responded with a stream of fire from his fire-ring. Both attacks collided, resulting in an explosion to temporarily blind Shredder.

Out of the smoke Avatar Aang surged forward and pulled off large pieces of the walls around him with both Airbending and Metalbending and slammed them all at Shredder; bashing him hard against the wall.

Suddenly, Shredder yelled as he slashed through the debris and flew directly toward Avatar Aang with energized claws. He tried to cut away at his Elemental Sphere, but Avatar Aang created two hand-like constructs out of his water ring to intercept his attack and lock hands with him. Both hated enemies glared at each other as one was trying to overpower the other.

Avatar Aang expanded his Air-Sphere to blast Shredder away from him. With enough distance, Aang shot his fist forward, and sent tiny pieces of metal from his sphere forward like a machine gun and all hit Shredder dead on as the scrapped away pieces of his armor.

This attack only angered Shredder as he ascended upward above Avatar Aang and threw more energy attacks at him, but Avatar Aang flew at a faster speed and was able to avoid the attacks Shredder threw at him. Once Avatar Aang flew underneath him, he shot a powerful spear of water from his water-ring directly upward, with an ice-pike at the end. It completely tore Shredder's left foot, and destabilized his flying a bit.

Ch'rell was now beginning to feel something he had never once felt in his entire life: fear. This new sensation began to take over as he desperately tried to fly further upward in the massive chamber to try and gang some distance, resulting in Avatar Aang flying after him.

As they flew further upward, Shredder looked with widened eyes as he saw he had reached the ceiling and had nowhere left to go. Avatar Aang shot upward and pulled massive amounts of water from all the remaining coolant tanks around him as well as pulling many more large pieces of debris from the wall. With a roar, he sent a powerful stream of fire along with the water, air, and debris straight up at the cornered Shredder in the form of massive missile-like attack.

"No… NO! WHERE ARE YOU GETTING THIS MUCH POWER?!" Ch'rell yelled in frustration and fear as he tried to create a shield to block the attack; but it all hit dead on with the roof; creating a large dent on the roof of the ship as it was ever so close to Sozin's Comet.

Avatar Aang simply stared at the result before a powerful explosion of energy ripped it all apart with a yell from the Shredder as he blasted it all away and charged full speed downward directly at Aang with is energized claws.

The fully realized Avatar responded in kind by creating fire-like blades in his hands with swirling air around them for added sharpness as he flew upward at his enemy. Both flew directly at each other….

 ***SLASH!***

They slashed past each other and for a brief second, nothing happened. However, Ch'rell gave a gasp as suddenly both of his upper arms we're severed and fell off his exo-suit and into the chasm below. The red-skinned Utrom looked up at Avatar Aang in fear as the Avatar kept himself airborne, but at the same time pulled out all his elements from his Elemental Sphere and condensed it into a small yet extremely powerful sphere in his left hand.

"This cannot be…." Ch'rell uttered as his pupils shrunk.

Avatar Aang roared as he shot himself downward at the hovering Shredder.

"WHAT ARE YOU!?" Ch'rell screamed as Avatar Aang thrusted his attack right onto Shredder.

 ***BOOM!***

With the force of a powerful explosion, Ch'rell was sent screaming as he fell at the speed faster than any bullet directly downward back to where they all started.

Everyone looked up at the sound of Shredder's yell as he landed hard on the bridge; almost destroying the whole thing; it was a miracle it didn't tear through. Shredder's armor was all but torn apart, as even the Sword of Tengu was knocked out of its compartment, due to the armor's back taking the brunt of the impact.

Avatar Aang performed a super hero landing shortly after as he landed in front of the heavily damaged and frightened Shredder.

"Aang!" Leo called to him. "You have to get Shredder and the Sword of Tengu into the power core! DESTROY THE WHOLE SHIP!"

Aang came out of the Avatar State as he turned to his friends with a shocked expression. Before he could respond however…

"It's okay, we know." Raph told him.

"And we're all agreed." Sokka added.

"We're going out in a blaze of glory." Toph added.

"It's the only way to save the world." Zuko said.

"It is time we finish this." Master Splinter told him.

Aang looked toward Katara as she gave him a smile and a nod. "It's okay Aang.. it's okay…"

Aang knew he couldn't change their minds. He did not like this idea, but they we're out of time. It was the only way. He nodded.

"I love all of you." Aang said.

Shredder realized what they we're doing, he also noticed the stray Sword of Tengu. "NO!" He shouted as he was able to get his damaged armor to its feet and made it to the Sword of Tengu, grabbing it with his armor's two remaining hands, just as everyone turned around.

In a desperate attempt, Shredder unleashed its full power into one massive attack directly at the Avatar, which hit him dead on.

"AANG!" Leo, Katara, Master Splinter, Zuko, Raph, Mikey, Don, Toph, Sokka, Suki, and Karai all yelled in horror at the same time.

However, right as the energy beam hit him, Aang remembered something. Before he and Splinter made it to Ba-Sing-Se they met a Lion-Turtle and it did something to him.

" _In the era before the Avatar, we bent not the elements, but the energy within our senses."_

Without thinking, Aang tapped into his Avatar State again as well as into a new power that was unlocked deep within. He threw his hands out and blew away the energy meant to kill him. Everyone looked in surprise at what they saw.

Aang's eyes and tattoos glowed white, but his skin and clothes we're now glowing a bright blue as the glow enveloped his body. No one knew it, but Aang had now learned Energybending was now bending the energy around his body to act as a shield.

While all his friends looked on in shock and awe expressions; Shredder's was one of both frustration and fear.

"Impossible…"

Getting even more desperate, Shredder, not realizing he was standing directly behind the power core, unleashed another blast at Avatar Aang who continued to use his Energybending to protect himself as he walked closer and closer to Shredder, deflecting all the Sword of Tengu's energy away from him and his friends. Aang got closer and closer.

While most of Aang's friends looked on in awe, Leo looked on and saw how desperate Shredder was, and how solely focused he was on Aang. Using his own strength, despite the wound he had, Leo took his sword and ran at Shredder. With a yell, Leo leaped into the air and severed Shredder's left arm, causing him to loose the Sword of Tengu.

Ch'rell looked in shock as the Sword of Tengu was in the air and Avatar Aang caught it in his hands. Using his Energybending, Aang was able to hold the Sword without it burning him.

Avatar Aang looked directly at Shredder with an expression of determination and ferocity.

"You're evil ends now!" Avatar Aang spoke in a voice mixing his own and his past lives.

Avatar Aang then impaled Shredder's armor in the Foot symbol and lifted him up and slammed him directly into the stream of energy that served as the vessel's power core. As the Sword of Tengu's tip surged into the energy, its own energy began to overload it as bolts of power surged around the power core, causing irreparable damage all around the massive power core chamber.

However, Ch'rell was not going to give up that easily. Using his armor's only arm, he grabbed Avatar Aang by the face and yelled as he tried to push himself away. As they struggled, Avatar Aang felt a firm grip on both his shoulders, he looked back to see it was Splinter. Behind Splinter we're both Toph and Raph on his shoulders. On Raph's shoulder was Sokka, on Toph's shoulder was Don, on Sokka's shoulder was Suki, on Don' shoulder was Karai. Mikey came in as well and put his hand Aang's left arm as Zuko did the same for Aang's right arm. Finally, Leo and Katara both put their hands on Aang's as they too held the Sword of Tengu.

Aang went out of the Avatar State one last time to see all his friends, his brothers and sisters, his father-figure, even the one he loved, all give him their own smile. With all their strength combined, they all gave a powerful and mighty yell as they all pushed together, forcing the Sword of Tengu further until it shot out of Shredder's armor completely and into the power core.

Shredder yelled and screamed in both fear and agony as he felt this overwhelming power. The Sword of Tengu surged and overloaded with so much power that the power core was overloading completely; the Sword of Tengu soon exploded as the power core would follow next.

* * *

 _Space; one minute earlier_

The Shredder's vessel was ever so close to Sozin's Comet and ready to emit the gravity pulse that would send it crashing down onto the planet's surface. However, a swirling yellow vortex opened up a small distance away from the event. Out of the vortex came another ship. This was an Utrom vessel, and its crew was commanded by none other than Commander Mortu himself, as well as the psychic Navigators.

"Mortu, we are now closing in on the signals of both Honeycutt and our Guardians." One Navigator spoke as they made visual contact with both Shredder's ship and Sozin's Comet.

"We sense the destruction of the evil one's ship is imminent. We can delay no longer!" Another Navigator stated.

"Prepare the exo-suits! And transmit aboard immediately!" The third Navigator ordered.

One of Mortu's men hovered to him on his pad. "Commander, all is in order!"

"Agreed. To the transmat now!" Mortu ordered. "And activate the stasis bubble immediately!"

The Utrom ship shot out a transparent beam, which enveloped itself around both the Shredder's ship as well as Sozin's Comet.

* * *

Within the ship; it had appeared that everything was now about to blow up. The power core had been ruptured as the Shredder's armor was blown to pieces, Ch'rell sent flying; even Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Suki, Leo, Raph, Mikey, Don, Splinter, and Karai we're sent flying backward as they held each other close, preparing for the end.

But, it had appeared that all time had stopped around the entire scene as everything was caught in the Utrom's stasis bubble.

A second later, Mortu and a team of Utroms in exo-suits we're all teleported onto the ship. They could move, but thanks to the stasis bubble's effects, nothing around them was moving.

One Utrom took out a device and scanned the area. "Mr. Mortu, sir! Collapse of the stasis bubble is imminent! It will not hold!"

"Transmat the Turltes, Master Splinter, and their allies to the infirmary immediately!" Mortu ordered. He turned with a glare toward Ch'rell, a part of him wanted to leave the evil being behind to die, but he knew his duty came over revenge. Ch'rell needed to pay for his crimes, and he will see to it that he does.

"And send this scum to the holding cells." Mortu ordered.

"Yes sir, transmatting now!"

With that, all the Utroms, as well as Team Avatar, the Ninja Turltes, Master Splinter, Karai, even Ch'rell himself, we're all teleported off the ship and into safety just as the stasis bubble's effects wore off.

Outside; explosions erupted from all over the Shredder's ship before it veered off course and crashed onto Sozin's Comet. This resulted in a massive explosion that ultimately destroyed both.

 ***BOOM!***

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se_

The sky lit up in glorious fashion as everyone, both hero and imprisoned villain alike looked up to see what appeared to be a small sun form right above the planet. All the rebels, Foot and Fire Nation forces we're stunned silently at this.

Among them we're Iroh, Casey, April, Mai, Ty-Lee, Hakoda, Professor Honeycutt, Chaplin, even the leader of the Guardians as they stood at a campsite; along with Appa and a few imprisoned villains. Azula herself was among them receiving medical attention. After Chaplin explained how she fought the Shredder upon discovering his intentions, they decided to cut her a break, but still be under heavy guard. She too looked up to the sky in shock. She wouldn't admit it, but a small part of her was deeply concerned for her brother.

"Oh god…" April breathed as they saw this.

The light slowly died down as the red from the sky vanished. With Sozin's Comet destroyed, night began to fall back as the sky once again turned dark.

"What was that….?" Casey breathed.

"I believe that was Sozin's Comet." Honeycutt responded.

Everyone looked even more panicked. "So… does that mean…?" Ty-Lee uttered fearing the worst.

"Are they… gone…?" Chaplin uttered as well.

Mai fell to her knees, almost believing the worst. Iroh tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder as he looked up fearing for his nephew, while Hakoda feared for his children. However, the leader of the Guardians received a transmission on a communications device on his wrist. He looked at the message that was sent and he smiled.

"They're alive." He told them.

"What!?" Everyone questioned at the same time.

"I just received a message from the Utroms." The Guardian began to explain. "They we're able to rescue the Turtles, the Avatar, and their allies just before the Shredder's ship was destroyed along with Sozin's Comet. They're all safe and receiving medical attention now."

This caused everyone to breath a huge sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." April breathed.

Azula looked away slightly so that no one could see a small smile of relief on her face as well.

"So what happened to the Shredder?" Hakoda asked.

"The Utroms will take him back to their homeworld where he will stand trial for his crimes." The Guardian answered.

"So… did we win?" Mai asked.

Iroh smiled. "Yes Mai. I do believe that we have won."

With that cheers erupted from not just this group, but also pretty much every rebel in Ba-Sing-Se. Every White Lotus member, every Guardian, every mutant, alien, and interdimensional beings, every human, every Freedom Fighter, Kyoshi Warrior, and Rebel alike all cheered. April was caught up in the moment that she pulled Casey in for a kiss on the lips. Ty-Lee enveloped both Mai and Chaplin in a huge hug. Hakoda and Iroh both looked toward each other and smiled.

* * *

 _Utrom Homeworld_

Some time later, after all the heroes' injuries we're treated; everyone was taken to the Utrom home planet, specifically to a massive chamber that at first appeared empty. Soon however, several holographic heads of multiple aliens appeared on the ceiling above.

A platform emerged from the floor as it ascended toward the middle of the massive chamber. Its sole occupant was Ch'rell himself as he was kept in the air by restraining fields of green energy emitted by generators on each side of the platform. His struggles we're futile, as he could not escape.

Another, much larger platform, emerged from the floor. This one carried our injured heroes. Leo's chest and arms we're bandaged; Aang was similarly bandaged up, thought not as much as his friends. Zuko's shirt was off as his upper body up to his neck was completely wrapped up in bandages. Raph's left foot was bandaged up, as was his lower rib area. Katara wasn't as injured as most of the others, though her hands we're wrapped up a bit as well. Both of Mikey's legs we're in casts as he had two crutches. Sokka's right leg was also in a cast as he had one single crutch. Toph's clothing covered the bandages she had over her chest, and she had a small cast on her back to keep her spine straight so that it could heal properly. Don's left arm was in a sling, as was Suki's right arm. Karai wasn't as injured as most of the others were but she still had both her arms each in a cast. Splinter didn't have any bandages, though his fur was still singed and burned.

Everyone had their own serious expression as they watched the scene in front of them unfold.

Seven spotlights opened to illuminate the tallest point in the chamber where seven Utrom judges sat on pedestals.

"Hail and peace to all sentient beings." The lead Utrom judge announced. "In the name of the great Law-Giver, Mathus-Arlus, this tribunal is now called to order! We sit in judgment over Ch'rell for war-crimes and atrocities committed throughout the galaxy."

Ch'rell glare as the judge continued. "Ch'rell also known as Toren-Non, Kako Naso, Duke Accurates, Oroku Saki, and The Shredder; prepare to face the following charges."

A massive projection opened up on the ceiling above. This one showed a red planet, as well as a recording of a busy city on the planet.

"Let it be known, that as Dolph-Et has testified, you did willingly launch an attack on the planet Eneth-Gold."

The projection showed a fleet of ships, under the command of Ch'rell, open fire on the city and reduce to nothing more than burning rubble.

"Over one million innocent inhabitants perished."

The projection shifted to a green planet, specifically a mining facility on the planet's surface as the Judge continued.

"And as Won-Ron-Opo has proven, you incited and funded a civil war on Enel-2. In an effort to mine their raw minerals without restriction."

The projection showed more of Ch'rell's ships attacking the facility, killing virtually all of its workers and other bystanders.

"3.2 million perished."

The Utrom Judge directed attention toward the injured Team Avatar, Turtles, Karai, and Splinter as he made his next claim to Ch'rell.

"As well, as our current witnesses have proven, you traveled to a parallel Earth engulfed in a century long war, which you manipulated for your own purposes. You violently overthrew the two main governing bodies known as the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, followed by multiple acts of unethical genetic experimentation. And as well, you attempted to drive a comet onto the surface of that planet, which would have resulted in a death toll of over 6.2 billion!"

Every single one of the injured heroes glared at Ch'rell at how close he was to doing just that.

The Judge continued. "Finally, your crimes against the Utrom homeworld include multiple attempts to take control of the government, through an illegal and violent coup."

"We will now commune upon the verdict."

The seven Utrom judges closed their eyes as they began to commune psychically. As they did, each of the Turtles, as well as Karai, Katara, Zuko, Toph, Sokka, and Suki looked on with serious expressions as they watched this play out. Among them, Aang and Splinter had most serious expressions as they hoped that justice would be done.

All seven Utroms' eyes opened up as they spoke at the same time. "In the name of the great Law-Giver, this tribunal finds you Ch'rell… GUILTY!"

Ch'rell gave a gasp at that before growling in frustration.

Toph couldn't help but smirk. "Burn."

The judge made his final announcement. "Ch'rell you are hereby sentenced to eternal exile on the ice asteroid Morgal-Tal!"

Karai gave a slight sigh as she looked toward her adoptive father one final time.

"Ugh! You are not fit to judge me! I am the Shredder!" Ch'rell ranted as teleportation beams we're shot at him. "I am invincible! I… I…" He began to feel its effects. "No… NOOOOOOOOOOO!" His body was broken down on a molecular level, as he was teleported away.

"May your actions haunt you forever." The judge told him, as he was gone.

Everyone looked toward the spot where Ch'rell once was, finding it hard to believe that like that, he was gone.

"Good riddance." Zuko said, glad that it was done, justice had been served.

Mortu came up toward the heroes on a hoverpad. "We all owe you a debt of gratitude." He told them with a grateful smile. "The Shredder has finally been brought to justice."

"So, that's it? He's gone?" Katara asked.

"Is it really over?" Leo asked as well.

"No more Shredder?" Raph asked to.

"Yes, my children." Splinter spoke in a tone of relief. "My Master Yoshi's spirit can finally rest in peace."

"And so can many others." Aang said as a smile formed on his face. "The Shredder is finished."

* * *

Cold and darkness, that was all that was there on the barren wasteland that was the ice asteroid Morgal-Tal. No one could possibly live on it. On it there would be only one sole occupant.

"NOOOOOO!" Ch'rell screamed at the top his lungs. "NNNNOOOOOOOOOO! UGH! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

No one would answer his screams, as she was truly alone in a massive cluster of millions of ice asteroids, orbiting an uninhabited planet on the other side of the galaxy.

* * *

 _Avatar Earth, Several Days Later_

After the trial, the Utroms returned the Turtles, Splinter, Team Avatar, and Karai to Earth after their worst injuries we're treated. Shortly after, the Utroms and Guardians all helped the White Lotus and rebel forces track down any remaining Foot forces in hiding across the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. After Shredder's defeat, as well as his top lieutenants, the enemy was not coordinated at all. Chaplin provided much inside information, even Azula gave some directions as well, and despite the fact she would be imprisoned as well for helping the Foot.

Within just a few short days, every single surviving agent of the Foot had been captured and imprisoned within a prison near the Fire Nation palace; including Hun, Stockman, the Dark Turtles, and even the Foot Elite that survived the destruction of the Foot-Carrier.

The even found Earth King Kuei, along with his pet bear Bosco.

It was now the day of Zuko's coronation as the new Fire Lord, everyone had gathered in the Fire Nation capital.

Zuko himself was in his personal chambers getting dressed. He put a robe on, but winced as he tried to put it over his right arm. Despite the Utroms healing the worst of his injuries, he still felt some residual pain left over.

"You need some help with that?"

Zuko turned to the entrance where he saw smiling Mai who walked up to him.

"Hey Mai, yeah I could use some help." Zuko replied with a grateful smile as she walked over to him and helped him put on the robe.

"So I gotta ask, what was it like being on an alien planet?" Mai asked as she tied off the robe, regarding Zuko's visit to the Utrom homeworld.

"It was definitely something, I'll tell you that." Zuko replied, as he didn't have the words to properly describe it.

"So, is Shredder really gone?" Mai asked.

"He was sent to an ice asteroid on the other side of the universe with no resources whatsoever. So yeah, I'd say he's gone." Zuko assured her.

Mai couldn't help but sigh in relief at that. "Hey, I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks." Zuko said as he looked deep into her eyes and the two shared a kiss.

Mai however quickly gave him a glaring look. "But don't ever. Try to sacrifice yourself. Again!" She warned. Zuko gave a sheepish smile before the two embraced each other happily.

"Get a room you two."

They both turned to see both Raph and Mikey smirking at the entrance.

"You guys just had to ruin the moment, didn't you?" Mai joked.

"Hey, its what we live for." Mikey joked back with a shrug.

"Come your highness, almost coronation time." Raph told Zuko who simply smiled as he gave Mai a quick kiss on the cheek before joining the two Turtles and walking away.

* * *

 _Fire Nation Courtyard_

Everyone was now gathered in the courtyard just outside the Fire Nation royal palace. Several nobles and royals from the Fire Nation, Northern Water Tribe, and Earth Kingdom we're present. As we're several the soldiers of the Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, and Foggy Swamp Tribe, as well as members of the White Lotus, the Guardians, Freedom Fighters, as well as several members from the Invasion force including Leatherhead, Traximus, Usagi, Gen, Haru, Teo, Professor Honeycutt, Hippo, the Boulder, their fathers; even the Utroms we're present, including Mortu.

As everyone present was making conversation with each other; including Toph with Traximus, April and Casey with Bato; Sokka, Katara, and Karai we're walking through the crowd when the two Water Tribe siblings spotted Hakoda.

"Dad!" Sokka called out.

"Dad!" Katara called out as well.

Hakoda turned from Dr. Chaplin, whom he was having a conversation with and greeted his children with a hug.

"I heard what you two did. I am the proudest father in the world." Sokka smiled at that as Hakoda looked to Katara. "And your mother would be proud to." Katara smiled as a few small tears of joy came to her eyes.

Chaplin walked towards Karai. "Hey, I'm a little surprised your not with Zuko."

"He doesn't really need me for this." Karai responded. "Listen… Dr. Chaplin… I just wanted to thank you, for helping me and everyone…"

Chaplin gave a bit of a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah… anything for you…" He said with a blush, while Karai had a bit of a blush herself.

Suki, fully clad in her Kyoshi Warrior uniform, along with the rest of her comrades walked onto the scene.

"There's my favorite warriors!" Sokka greeted. "I gotta admit, I really missed the face paint. So how does it feel to be back in uniform again?"

Ty-Lee, clad in the uniform and make-up of a Kyoshi Warrior, walked up front with a broad smile. "It feels great!"

Sokka looked a bit in surprise before he ran protectively in front of Suki. "Careful Suki, Ty-Lee's pretending to be a Kyoshi Warrior again!"

"Its okay." Suki told Sokka. "She's one of us now."

Sokka's jaw dropped, even Karai looked in mild surprise as Ty-Lee explained.

"Yeah, the girls and I really bonded during the fight in Ba-Sing-Se. And after a few chief-walking lessons they said I could join their group." She pulled two of them in a hug. "We're gonna be best friends forever!" She smiled broadly while they smiled somewhat nervously.

Karai walked forward. "Well I'm happy for you Ty-Lee."

"Aw Karai." Ty-Lee enveloped her in a hug as well. "You'll always be my best friend to."

Karai was all too happy to return the hug to one of the first friends she's ever had.

This scene was both witness by Iroh and Splinter who smiled at this as well as the interactions shared by everyone else.

"Such a scene truly brings joy to an old man's heart." Iroh spoke.

"Indeed." Splinter agreed. "It is always inspiring to see the young truly stand on their own two feet."

The two elder masters shared smiles as they continued to watch.

* * *

 _Inside_

Zuko was fully dressed in the garb of the Fire Lord as both Raph and Mikey escorted him. Aang was garbed in the of an Air Nomad master along with a medallion as he sat and meditated, standing along with him we're both Leo and Don as they saw their friend and brothers approach.

"Hey, look at you." Don said to Zuko. "You sure look like a king if I've ever seen one."

"Fire Lord Zuko." Leo agreed. "That does have a nice ring to it."

"Thanks guys." Zuko told them as he looked toward Aang. "I can't believe a year ago my purpose in life was hunting you down. And now…"

"And now we're friends." Aang finished with a smile.

Zuko smiled back. "Yeah… we are friends."

"You got that right buddy!" Mikey threw his arm around Zuko and pulled him into a brief noogie.

"Give him room Mikey, he's about to be coroneted." Don told him in a joking tone. But Mikey still eased off.

Aang stood up from his sitting position. "I can't believe a year ago I was still frozen in a block of ice. The world seems so different now."

"And after what Shredder did, fixing this ain't gonna be easy." Raph said.

"Nothing worth having ever is." Zuko replied. "The world is gonna even more different, we will all rebuild together."

"You have our support as well Zuko." Leo put a hand on his shoulder. "You're not alone, not as long as we have anything to say about it." He gestured to the smiling Raph, Don, Mikey, and Aang.

Zuko nodded gratefully before he walked outside with the Avatar and Turtles behind him.

* * *

Everyone was all lined up and gathered outside as Zuko stepped out where two Fire Sages bowed and a third rang a gong. Once he stepped out, several people all cheered for him and clapped.

"Please." Zuko raised a humble hand. "The real heroes are the Avatar and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Zuko gestured behind him as Avatar Aang, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo all stepped outside, resulting in even more cheers and applauses from all their friends.

All five of them smiled as they made eye contact with their friends. Aang's eyes lay upon a certain Waterbending girl as she smiled proudly at him. Leo saw where Aang was looking and gave a slight smirk as well.

"Today this war is finally over!" Zuko announced, resulting in loud cheers and applauses from everyone. "I promised my Uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation! And I will! The road ahead of us is challenging! A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided! But with the help of the Avatar and the Turtles, we can get it back on the right path and begin a new era of love and peace!"

Zuko got on his knees as a Fire Sage walked toward him with a crown. "All hail Fire Lord Zuko!" He announced as he placed the crown on his head.

The entire audience clapped and cheered for him as the newly crowned Fire Lord stood up and stood alongside Aang, Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey, as they looked outward at the dawn of a new era for this world.

* * *

 _Ba-Sing-Se; Later that Evening._

The war was now officially over and the rebuilding of Ba-Sing-Se had begun. Earth King Kuei, along with Bosco, and the ever eager Bumi led a construction team of Earthbenders to tear down the burnt and destroyed remains of the Foot Central Command, and would rebuild the Earth Kingdom royal palace. Mortu and several Utroms, along with Professor Honeycutt we're also present in the rebuilding. With the combined efforts of the Earthbenders and Utrom's advanced science, the Palace would be rebuilt in no time.

Children played and celebrated in the streets as well. On top of a pile of destroyed Foot Mech Suits was an Earth Kingdom flag, where two Earthbending kids we're playing some form of sport where they would kick up earth-pillars to send the ball over the pile back-and-forth.

At the Jasmine Dragon; Appa gave a slight groan as he watched from outside all the people inside enjoying some peace and quiet. Aang still wore his sacred Air Nomad outfit while everyone else seemed dressed for the occasion. Leo, Raph, Don, and Mikey wore Japanese Junín-Ninja robes that we're black and each had color to represent their specific ninja mask; Leo's robe was blue and black, Raph's was red and black, Mikey's was orange and black, and Don's was purple and black. Iroh and Zuko wore the same green and white and brown clothes respectively when the Jasmine Dragon first opened. Master Splinter still wore his brown ropes while Karai dressed in a dark blue and red Japanese robe with sakura flowers on it, and her hair was tied back. Katara wore a light green robe while Sokka wore a dark green robe with a jacket over it. Toph wore green and yellow robes, as did Suki in a similar fashion. Mai wore a light green robe with white sleeves while Ty-Lee wore something that resembled a pink version of the Kyoshi Warrior's outfit. Dr. Chaplin wore a tuxedo with a white blazer and black pants, Casey had a suit on as well, but his was blue. April wore a red formal dress.

Iroh played his horn while Aang was close by using an air ball to play with Momo while Splinter meditated close to him. Zuko delivered a cup of tea to Iroh and then to Splinter before he moved onto others within the Jasmine Dragon. Toph and Mikey sat with their feet up on a table while Raph and Casey we're arm-wrestling on the table next to them. Leo, Karai, Katara, April, and Chaplin sat at one table together while Don, Suki, Ty-Lee, and Mai sat at another as Zuko delivered tea to all of them.

Sokka was painting something at a further table when he saw Zuko moving around. "Zuko stop moving! I am trying to capture the moment!"

"What's eating you?" Raph questioned.

Sokka smiled as he resumed his work. "I wanted to do a painting, so we always remember the good times together."

Katara was the first to walk toward him with a smile. "That's very thoughtful of you Sokka." But her smile faded when she got a good look at the painting, it looked like something a four year old would do.

"Wait, why did you give me Momo's ears?"

"Those are your hair-loopies."

Most of the group, with the exceptions of Leo and Aang, gathered around and looked somewhat critically at the childish painting.

"Why do I have a skull for face?" Casey asked.

"That's your hockey mask." Sokka replied.

"At least you don't look like a boarcupine." Zuko commented. "My hair's not that spikey!"

"I don't scowl like that." Raph commented to.

"It looks like I'm holding disks on sticks." Mikey added.

"Hey its not easy drawing nunchucks, okay?!" Sokka replied.

"Well it looks like my eyes are just crystal balls." Chaplin commented on Sokka's failed attempt to draw his glasses.

"It looks like I'm holding a stick." Don also commented.

"I look like a man." Mai added.

"My smile isn't that big." Ty-Lee pointed out.

"Why am I so far in the background?" April asked.

"Why did you paint me Firebending?" Suki asked as well.

"And why am _I_ holding the Sword of Tengu?" Karai also asked.

"I don't have enough room for everyone." Sokka replied to April as he turned to Suki and Karai. "And I thought both of those made it look more exciting."

Momo chirped as he went up on the table. "Oh, you think you can do a better job, Momo?!"

"Dude, I could do a better job with my feet." Mikey joked.

"Yeah a regular Picasso, you are not." Raph joked as well.

"What's a Picasso?" Sokka asked.

"An artist in our world." Don answered.

"Yeah, and yours looks more like graffiti. Take it from me who's lived in New York my whole life." Casey joked.

"Yeah, yeah, keep criticizing." Sokka sighed.

"Criticism can be a good thing." Splinter told Sokka. "It can help us to improve upon our mistakes."

"Hey, you calling my art a mistake?!" Sokka exclaimed, though he too was joking.

Aang and Leo both saw this scene and couldn't help but smile in amusement. "Somethings will never change, will they?" Aang asked Leo.

"That's family for yeah." Leo replied back.

Aang smiled as he stood up. "I'm gonna get some fresh air." Leo nodded as he saw his surrogate younger brother walk outside and briefly pet Appa.

"Hey, my belly's not that big anymore, I really chimed down." Iroh commented on Sokka's picture.

"Well I think you all look perfect!" Toph cracked; resulting in everyone, Sokka included, laughing.

Aang walked onto the balcony where he saw the whole city of Ba-Sing-Se as well as the setting sun, it was nothing short of beautiful. It was hard to believe what had just happened here recently. Aang and his friends had defeated the most evil and unforgiving enemy they had ever faced; they had ended the war that had plagued this world for so long. It almost felt like a dream.

Katara walked outside just behind him and joined him in looking out toward the city and the sunset. She had the same thoughts he did as the two turned toward each other and looked with smiles. Katara found it almost difficult to belief this was the same goofy kid she found in the iceberg almost a year ago; he had grown and matured so much.

They said nothing as the two embraced each other lovingly. The two pulled away briefly as they looked into each other's eyes and shared a deep and passionate kiss.

As they kissed; Leo saw all this as he leaned on the wall outside and smiled as he nodded his head in approval.

"About time." He said to himself.

* * *

 _The Next Day_

Everyone had gathered at a large field in the forest as this was now the day where the Turltes and their allies would go back to their earth. All the remaining Foot forces we're secure in energy cages provided by the Utroms, including Hun, the Foot Elite, Stockman, and the Dark Turtles.

Usagi, Gen, Leatherhead, Traximus, Professor Honeycutt, as well as the Guardians, Mortu, and the other Utroms had said their goodbyes as Usagi walked toward a large stone-wall where he painted the symbols of the Nexus, made a chant, and a large portal opened up where they all walked in, along with the imprisoned villains and left this world to return to their own.

The portal soon closed as Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, Master Splinter, April O'Neil, Casey Jones, Karai, and Dr. Chaplin all faced their friends; Aang, Katara, Zuko, Toph, Sokka, Suki, Mai, Ty-Lee, Hakoda, and Iroh.

"So, this is it, huh?" Aang asked.

"Looks that way." Leo replied.

"Do… do you think we'll see each other again?" Katara asked.

"Oh definitely." Raph replied. "This ain't goodbye."

"Yep, Leo knows how to use the Nexus, so does Master Splinter." Mikey pointed out. "We'll definitely come back and visit."

Toph smirked. "You guys better, else you'll get a pounding from me!"

"And who knows, maybe one day, you'll be visiting us." Don proposed.

"Now that sounds like fun!" Sokka liked that idea.

Zuko gave a bit of sigh. "You guys are lucky. The Earth King and I are both stuck fixing this world; and given how Shredder's Project Meteoroid almost destroyed the Fire Nation economy, not to mention all the damages done to both the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes…"

"Actually, I think we may have a possible solution." Karai told him, surprising Zuko. "Chaplin?"

Dr. Chaplin walked forward with Don as he held a large file with papers. "It's something Donatello and I have been working on. Believe it or not, something a lot like this happened in our world to."

Don chimed in. "After a major world war, the economy in our country, the United States was all but devastated. It was an era called the Great Depression. Many people lost their jobs and homes due the expenses of that war. But it didn't last very long…."

"The president at that time created a program called the New Deal." Chaplin continued as he handed the file to Zuko. "It created multiple jobs that helped rejuvenate the economy in just a few short years. So we created a similar proposal for both you and the Earth King to look at."

Don spoke next as Zuko skimmed some of the file's contents. "It could help create jobs in both countries as they work together to repair some of the damages, and even help create better relations between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation."

Zuko closed the file and smiled. "Guys… I… thank you so much! This should help quite a lot!"

Karai smiled toward him but his smile faded briefly, something Ty-Lee noticed. "Hey Karai, what's wrong?"

The kunoichi sighed as she began to explain. "The Shredder may be gone, and his top lieutenants captured, but there are still several factions of the Foot all across the world, and multiple smaller criminal organizations and gangs that we're formerly under our control. With the Shredder now gone, it will create a power vacuum that many factions will try to fill, and lash out at each other. It will be the War for New York all over again."

"Not if you show them a better way." Aang said as he walked toward her. "You could do the same thing for the Foot that Zuko will do for the Fire Nation. You could turn them into a force for good."

That took Karai by surprise. "Me? Lead the Foot?"

"I know you have the potential to do it." Zuko told her. "After all, you helped me find the right path."

"Well he's not wrong." Chaplin said to Karai.

Karai looked a bit conflicted. "I doubt however it will happen overnight. Many of those factions will still be loyal to the ways of the Shredder, it will not be easy."

"That's what we're here for." Leo said as he put a hand on Karai's shoulder, gesturing to himself and his brothers. "We'll help you anyway we can Karai."

"Cause your one of us now." Mikey told her with every bit of seriousness in his voice.

Karai couldn't help but smile at all this support. "Thank you."

With that, the group began to say their individual goodbyes.

Master Splinter walked toward both Hakoda and Iroh as he made a bow to them. "Chief Hakoda, General Iroh, it was an honor to fight by your side."

"The honor was all ours, Master Splinter." Hakoda said as he and Iroh both bowed back.

"And I am honored to know you as well." Iroh said to Splinter. "The next time we meet, let us share some tea over a game of Pai-Sho."

Splinter smiled as he nodded.

Zuko walked toward Casey and April. "Hey, you two we're among the first to give me a second chance. Thanks for that."

"Everyone deserves a second chance, even you Zuko." April told them as she shook his hand.

Zuko tried to shake Casey's hand, but the vigilante pulled the young Fire Lord into a headlock and gave him a noogie. "Especially to a bad ass like you!" Casey smirked as he noogied Zuko, causing him to chuckle.

Karai met both Mai and Ty-Lee as the kunoichi looked toward them, her eyes conveying clear emotion. "Ty-Lee, Mai, you two we're the first friends I've ever truly had. It was your friendship that helped put me on the true path. I can't thank you enough."

"Hey, its what friends are for." Mai smiled. "And thanks for looking after Zuko."

"No matter what happens Karai, we're always gonna be best friends!" Ty-Lee said happily before the three girls shared a hug.

After which, Karai and Zuko made eye contact as they walked toward each other. "Karai, thank you for everything you've done." Zuko told her. "Thanks for sticking with me and helping me all this time."

Karai smiled. "I should thank you as well Zuko, for the same reasons. You've looked out for me as well and I wish you the best of luck, my friend."

Zuko offered his hand to shake, but Karai instead pulled Zuko into a hug. This was actually the first time that Karai was the one to hug first, something Zuko was more than happy to return.

Don met with both Sokka and Suki. "Hey Don, next time we meet, you should teach me some Ninjitsu. I think the other Kyoshi Warriors would benefit a lot from it."

The purple-clad Turtle nodded. "Sounds like fun." He turned to Sokka. "Hey Sokka, you're smart, and you got a lot of potential as an inventor."

"Really? You mean that?" Sokka asked.

"I do." Don put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Just watch it with those lame jokes." They shared a laugh before sharing a bromantic hug.

Raph walked toward Toph, who's bangs we're covering her face. The red-clad Turtle kneeled down to her level.

"I hate saying goodbye." Toph uttered as tears fell down her cheeks.

The muscle of the Turtles smiled sincerely as he patted Toph's head. "Than don't. Like I said kid, this ain't goodbye we will see each other again."

Toph looked up to Raph, tears evident in her dull eyes. "I know but still… Raph I… you're the best big brother I've ever had!" She latched onto him as she continued to cry.

Raph smiled as he hugged her back. "And you're the most kick-ass little sister I've ever had."

"I'll miss you." Toph said as Raph stood up.

"Same here, twerp." Raph ruffled her hair, causing Toph to smile.

Before Mikey could even react, Ty-Lee ran up and hugged him. "Bye Mikey, it's been fun!"

"Yeah, it has been!" Mikey returned the hug. But his smile was changed when Ty-Lee gave him a kiss on the cheek. Mikey heard most of his friends whistle teasingly as his green cheeks turned red.

Ty-Lee gave Mikey a wink before back-flipping away.

"Someone's got a not-so-secret admirer." Katara teased as she walked toward Mikey.

"Yeah, just like how you and Aang weren't so secret." Mikey joked back as his blush faded away.

Katara laughed at the joke. "Hey Mikey, thanks. You've really helped me to just… well…"

"Loosen up and have fun?" Mikey finished. "Its what bros do!"

The young Waterbender smiled gratefully toward him. "Yeah, so you better come back and liven the place up even more!"

"Count on it, Sis." Mikey smiled as the two shared a hug that a brother and sister would both share.

Leo and Zuko walked over toward each other. Leo was the first to bow respectfully. "Zuko, I am honored to know you and fight by your side."

"I feel the exact same way, Leonardo." Zuko bowed back. "And thanks for giving me a second chance."

"You deserved it." Leo told him as the two shared a respectful handshake. With that out of the way, Leo walked toward Avatar Aang as they smiled toward each other.

"Leo, what you and your brothers, and your father all did for me and my world… I can't ever repay." Aang told him. "But I will try."

"There's no need to." Leo told him. "Its what family and friends are for, they look out for each other, and I will always look out for you. We're brothers."

Aang smiled as tears formed in his eyes. "Yeah, we are brothers, aren't we?"

Leo placed his fist on his palm as he bowed and Aang mirrored his actions. After they rose up, Aang quickly ran up to his surrogate older brother and gave him a large hug. Leo was quick to return it.

They broke apart as Master Splinter walked toward Aang. "Young Avatar, thank you as well for all that you have done for my sons. Though our paths must now stray, I know they will meet again for we have forged a bond that stands the test of both time and space."

"I know we have Master Splinter, and I know we will meet again." Aang told him. "But hopefully the fate of the universe won't rest on it." Aang joked as Splinter gave an amused chuckle.

With that; Splinter, Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey, Karai, April, Casey, and Chaplin all walked toward the wall as Splinter began to recite the chant and activate the Nexus portal. They turned back toward Aang, Katara, Zuko, Toph, Sokka, Suki, Mai, Ty-Lee, Iroh, and Hakoda one last time.

"See you around the multiverse dudes!" Mikey called out as they walked into the Nexus portal, which closed shortly after.

Aang smiled as he looked up to the clear sky. Deep down in his heart he knew this wasn't the end, they will meet again. Though they live in two separate worlds, they are one family.

 **The End.**

 **Done. I figured this would be a long chapter. So, it looks like its over. The Shredder is finally defeated; Aang is fully realized Avatar and Zuko is the new Fire Lord. Karai plans to change the Foot for the better with the support of the Turltes and their friends. So it looks like a happy ending.**

 **For now…**

 **If you look at the start of this, you can see there is still one loose end. The Foot Mystics have been freed and if you've seen TMNT (2003) Season 5 (or the Lost Season as its called) you have a good idea of what they plan to do.**

 **This story may be over, but the saga is not. A sequel will come soon, but I still have an epilogue of this chapter to do before it is completed.**

 **On a separate note, I plan to start my sequel to Frozen Turtles soon as well. I know many of you have been waiting for that and I promise it will begin soon.**

 **Once again, thank you all for your support and patience with me as we made this journey, without it I couldn't have done it. I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Stand by for the epilogue and the sequel….**

" **Worlds Collide: The Ninja Tribunal Saga"**

 **See you around. TURTLE POWER!**


	35. Epilogue

**Hi Everyone. I am truly sorry for the wait. I had final exams I had to study for, as well as extra hours at work. Once my exams we're done, I hit a bit of a writers block, as I had to write quite a lot of essays for my finals; my brain was basically dead. I had to watch some TMNT and Avatar episodes just to get my motivation back. Now anyway, let us continue. Keep in mind this is just a short chapter as it is merely an epilogue.**

 **Once again, I thank you all for your patience and for following this story.**

 **Epilogue**

 _Fire Nation Capital_

Zuko rubbed his face in exhaustion as he walked into his own personal quarters and sat down on a chair. Two months had passed since the war officially ended. Zuko had been working with Earth King Kuei, Bumi, Chief Hakoda and Chief Arnook in rebuilding the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom using the 'New Deal' proposal left by the Turtles. The plan was working well, but it wasn't easy.

"Rough day?"

The young Fire Lord turned to see Mai walking toward him with a smile. He smiled as he sighed with a reply.

"Yeah, but we're making progress." Zuko replied as Mai rubbed his shoulders. "At least the economy is starting back up, so we're not going into a recession."

"That's good to hear." Mai said. "Bet you wish Karai was hear to help you out." She teased.

"I'm sure she's got her own hands full with the Foot." Zuko replied as Mai kissed his cheek. The two looked into each other's eyes tenderly for a moment, but before anything could happen….

"Hey Zuko!" Ty-Lee came in quickly with some papers.

"Ever heard of knocking Ty-Lee?" Mai questioned irritably.

"Sorry." The pink acrobat gave an apologetic smile. "But I've got some bad news. Azula's sentence was cut down so she's not in prison for life; but your request for her pardon was denied."

Zuko gave a sigh. "I'm not surprised."

"Well I'm a little surprised you're trying to help her." Mai pointed out. "After all she did to you."

"She's just as much Shredder's pawn as everyone else." Zuko replied. "Besides, there's been too much bad blood between us. One of us has to stop it, or it won't."

Ty-Lee smiled. "Well I'm glad you're trying to help her. Maybe all that time with the Turtles helped you."

"Maybe it did." Zuko smiled. "I miss them."

"We all do." Mai said before she looked toward Ty-Lee mischievously. "One of us happens to miss a certain orange-clad Turtle more than the others."

Ty-Lee chuckled nervously as she blushed.

* * *

 _New York; Foot Headquarters_

Karai sat on the same place her father once sat when he was in charge of the Foot, now she was in command and during these past two months, it had gone through an extensive overhaul. With Shredder gone, as well as the Foot Elite imprisoned, the Foot had no leader so she took charge. The New York faction followed her as no one was left to fill the power vacuum left by Shredder, and the Japanese sector, which she was previously in charge with, followed her without question. Though most of the Foot was now hers to control, several smaller groups split off into smaller gangs; but with the help the Turtles, they have yet to become a significant threat.

"Mistress Karai." Chaplin walked in with a clipboard of information.

"Chaplin, I told you before. Call me just 'Karai', you're my partner, not my subordinate." She told him with a friendly smile.

"Sorry." Chaplin began his report. "But good news. The tech division had just finished cleaning up the city after Bishop's little 'alien invasion'."

"Good." Karai replied. "I knew Bishop was xenophobic, but creating his own alien invasion simply to gain more funding for the EPF? I never thought he would resort to such heinous methods." She spoke with in contempt.

"Both him and Stockman." Chaplin added as he read the data on the clipboard. "I had our scientists analyze the genetic material gathered from their 'aliens', honestly it looks like they just mixed up several different DNA codes in a blender. Seriously, if that stuff got in the sewers we could have had a major mutant outbreak here in New York!"

"Well let us be grateful it never came to that." Karai said.

Chaplin looked down slightly. "I can't believe that I actually looked up to Stockman. Sure he's a genius, but he's also a total maniac!"

"I know exactly how that feels." Karai told him. "But no we are both on the right path; and we have Zuko, Aang, and all their friends to thank for that."

"Yeah." Chaplin said before getting back to work. "But its not just Bishop we need to worry about."

"You are correct." Karai said. "It is also Hun, who escaped from prison a couple of weeks ago."

"He's been recruiting more and more people into the Purple Dragons. They're not just a street gang anymore, they're something else. Hun is turning them into a powerful crime syndicate." Chaplin said. "Between that, as well as some splintering within the Foot, we've really got our work cut out for us."

"We need not worry to much Chaplin." Karai assured him. "After all, the Turtles are our allies in this as well."

"That's true." Chaplin said, comforted by that fact. "Hey uh, you know since we're not too busy later tonight…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Maybe you might wanna go out for dinner or…?"

Karai gave him a sly grin. "Dr. Chaplin… are you asking me out on a date?" She teased.

Chaplin's face turned completely red. "Uh well… if you want I guess… I don't…"

Karai laughed slightly as she smiled at him. "Yes Chaplin, a night out does sound pleasant."

The young scientist turned to her with a surprised look on her face. She actually said yes! His surprised look turned into a giant grin.

* * *

 _Ember Island; Zuko's private beach house_

Aang and Katara both lay on a towel on the white sand. It was a beautiful day as the young Waterbender curled into the Avatar's arms; both of them appeared to be sleeping with contentful faces.

"This is nice." Aang said as he looked up at the sky. "No fighting, no practicing, just us relaxing."

"Yeah, it really is." Katara agreed as she slowly stroked Aang's bare chest. Her hand stopped in the middle where he's scar was; the same spot where the Shredder stabbed him. Her smile faded slightly.

"Does it hurt?"

"Just the memory." Aang said in a slightly grim tone. "It's funny, you always try to remember all the good things in life; but all the bad things… they tend to stick with you whether you want them to or not."

"I know the feeling." Katara agreed as she looked to her neck where she wore the necklace Aang made for her out of Sokka's fishing line after Shredder crushed the one that belonged to her mother. "But despite everything we've been through, look where we are now. The war is over, people are working together to rebuild the world, and we're all safe and here."

She pointed out closer to the beach where she and Aang saw the rest of their friends having fun. Sokka and Suki we're both playing some form of volleyball with Toph as the two non-benders smacked the ball over the sleeping Appa to Toph, who used Sandbending to erect columns from the sand to send it back over. Momo was on top of Appa's head, watching the ball go back and forth.

Aang smiled at the carefree attitude his friends we're currently experiencing. "Yeah, I just wish _all_ our friends we're here. But I know they're helping Karai to change the Foot, so I understand."

"It's okay to miss them though." Katara said. "I miss them to, but I know we'll see them again."

"You're right." Aang agreed, as he looked deep into Katara's eyes. The two stared for a minute before they kissed. Their kiss was interrupted when the volleyball almost smacked Aang in the face, but he moved out of the way as the two looked with surprised expressions toward their friend.

"Whoops! Sorry guys!" Suki called out.

"Yo! You two wanna quit your little oogies and come join us?" Toph invited.

Aang and Katara looked toward each other as the Avatar picked up the volleyball and smirked almost evilly as he used Airbending to create a vortex around the ball and spin it at a fast rate.

Sokka did not like the look Aang was giving them. "Uh oh."

Katara chuckled as she shook her head.

* * *

 _New York; Turtles' Lair_

Everything seemed like a normal day for the Turtles in their lair. Raph was at the punching bag; Mikey was sitting upside down on the coach reading a Justice Force comic; Don was working on something at his lab station; and Leo was meditating along with Master Splinter.

As father and son meditated, the eldest son seemed to be a bit struggling as he had difficulty focusing. Master Splinter seemed to notice.

"Leonardo? What troubles you my son?"

Leo opened his eyes and spoke. "Shredder's gone, for good this time. Karai is on our side and is changing the foot; everything should be great. It's true that we still have the Purple Dragons and EPF to worry about, I just can't help but think we're missing something."

Raph, Mikey, and Don stopped what they we're doing and joined in on the conversation.

"You sure its not just you missing Aang and the others?" Don asked as they walked forward and sat down with Leo and Splinter.

"It's not that." Leo replied. "I mean, yeah I miss them…."

"As we all do." Master Splinter nodded.

"But it's something else." Leo tried to come up with the words. "I don't know how to describe it, but I just feel like… something's coming."

"Man, and you say I'm the paranoid one." Mikey joked.

"You sure you're alright Leo?" Raph asked.

"I don't know, and that's what bothers me." Leo replied.

Master Splinter stroked his beard as he spoke. "While it is true we must remain vigilant for whatever threat we may face ahead, however it also good to know when to rest not only our bodies but our spirits."

"Yeah bro, like you said Shredder's gone." Raph told him. "So I think we're entitled to a little down time."

"You should probably just chill and watch some movies." Mikey suggested. "Always works for me."

"And no matter what happens, we're still here for you." Don said with a smile.

Leo gave a sigh as he smiled. "You guys are right. Maybe I could use a break."

"Well come on! They're having a Star Wars marathon in just a few minutes!" Mikey exclaimed as he ran to the couch with the TVs all facing them. "What better way to relax than let your brain rot on watching sword fights and explosions?"

Raph, Don, and even Leo laughed as they went to join him and watch some flicks. Master Splinter smiled at his sons as they had definitely earned this after defeating the most evil and unforgiving foe they had ever met.

Yet at the same time, Master Splinter couldn't help but be a bit curious. While he didn't say it, he too felt something was off. As if there we're mysterious forces moving about, in which they would likely be pulled into and enter another conflict that could decide the fates of not just one, but multiple worlds.

* * *

 _Japan_

The streets we're empty in this small Japanese town, the only sole occupant who walked these streets appeared to be a small, elderly, and chubby man. This was the same man who taught Hamato Yoshi everything he knew, this was the Ancient One.

He walked through the streets and toward a small Japanese temple on one side of the street. The Ancient One entered the temple through the main gate; once he was inside he walked toward a barred gate that opened almost automatically, revealing a staircase that led downward to an apparent basement in the temple.

The Ancient One entered a small, dimly lit chamber. The only illumination we're a series of torches in between several dark pathways. The Ancient One walked into the center of the chamber and bowed, as if there was someone already there waiting for him.

"I have come to plead for the Turtles as well as the Avatar." The Ancient One spoke. "You must not carry out your designs."

From one shaded area, a pair of glowing blue eyes revealed themselves.

"You are too late, Ancient One." This blue-eyed being spoke in a deep voice.

Another pair of glowing green eyes appeared in another shaded area. The owner of these eyes was female, judging from her voice.

"We have decided."

A third pair of eyes, these ones glowing white, spoke out in a lighter-toned voice, but one that still carried a tone of authority.

"We will judge the fate of the Turtles, and the Avatar. We will determine whether they will live…"

"Or how they will meet their end." The blue-eyed being finished.

The Ancient One knew he couldn't change their minds at this point. So he reluctantly bowed. All he could do now was prey for the Turtles and the Avatar, and hope that they we're ready for what they will face next.

 **Done.**

 **Yes, I know this is short, but this was really all I could do.**

 **As of now, "Worlds Collide" is officially concluded. Once again, than you all for following me as I wrote this story, I never imagined it would receive such praise and attention. Thank you so very much.**

 **As you know, a sequel is coming. But first, I intend to start my Frozen Turtles sequel soon, once I update a few other stories first. Some time after I start my Frozen Turtles sequel, I will begin the sequel to this story. Until then, peace out.**

 **See you next time for "Worlds Collide: The Ninja Tribunal Saga"**


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